Vitalia Diatchenko returns to Maria Sharapova in their first round match at Wimbledon. Diatchenko won in three sets (Photo: Neil Hall, EPA-EFE)

WIMBLEDON, England – Maria Sharapova entered her Wimbledon match on Tuesday after losing a first-round Grand Slam match only three times in 52

That changed when the 24th seed Sharapova, who won the first of his five Grand Slam tournaments at Wimbledon in 2004, lost his fourth Grand Slam first round match against Russian compatriot Vitalia Diachenko 6-7 (3), 7-6 (3), 6-4

This defeat only marked the seventh time in 36 Grand Slam matches against Russian compatriots that she suffered a defeat. It's also the third time she's losing in 20 Grand Slam games against a qualification.

Sharapova led 7-6, 5-2 in the match when she began to unravel against Diatchenko, 132nd. Sharapova made two fouls on 11 occasions, including the match point of 30-40 in the 10th match of the third set.

"I've really had several opportunities in the game," Sharapova said. "Even if I did not play my best tennis, I opened a few doors and I was two points to win this game, but I also did it in the third, but sometimes you put yourself in a position better or winning, and you do not finish, that was the case today. "

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In all, there were 25 break points in the match, Sharapova saved seven of the 14, while Diatchenko He was beaten on six of the 11 breaking points met

Sharapova reached the third round of the Open d & # 39; Australia and the quarterfinals of the Open de France this year.

Sharapova won a title, in Tianjin, China, last October, since she returned to the tour in April 2017 after a suspension of 15 months for use of bstance meldonium.

The win marked Wimbledon's first match win for Diatchenko in three games played here. It's the third time she's won a first-round Grand Slam match in eight games in her career.

"She played all or nothing," Sharapova said of Diatchenko. She played very aggressively, I played a bit too defensively for what I should have done, yes, she was there to win, and she did it.

Diatchenko's best victory was his career, defeating Slovak Dominika Cibulkova, 14th at the time, at the Moscow tournament in 2014.

Diatchenko will play against Sofia Kenin, 19, a Naturalized American of Russian origin in the second round, Kenin defeated Maria Sakkari of Greece 6-4, 1-6, 6-1.

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