NEW YORK (AP)—Maria Sharapova was knocked out of the U.S. Open in the third round Friday after a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 loss to No. 26 seed Flavia Pennetta of Italy.
The defeat was the 2006 champion’s first loss in 13 three-set matches this year.
“She’s a good fighter,” said Pennetta, who conceded she didn’t know about Sharapova’s record in three-setters. “You can never give up with her. You have to be focused until the last game, until the last point, actually.”
Sharapova made 12 double-faults, including two in the last game. She did not look sharp over a 2 hour, 29-minute match that featured plenty of nervous tennis. Sharapova made 60 unforced errors and lost four break points while trailing 2-0 in the third set.
“I didn’t feel comfortable with most of my game today,” Sharapova said.
After her loss, defending champion Rafael Nadal was leading 6-2, 6-2 against Nicolas Mahut when the Frenchman retired with an abdominal injury.
The man most consider the best without a major championship, No. 4 Andy Murray, appeared on his way out, too, after losing the first two sets against 41st-ranked Robin Haase of the Netherlands. But with Haase getting treated by a trainer for back problems between sets, Murray came all the way back to win 6-7 (5), 2-6, 6-2, 6-0, 6-4.
“I started chasing a lot of balls down,” said the three-time Grand Slam finalist. “At the beginning, I felt sluggish, felt slow. I started forcing myself to get every single ball.”
Murray’s next match is against No. 25 Feliciano Lopez, who defeated Canada’s Vasek Pospisil, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5).
Other men’s winners included 12th-seeded Gilles Simon, 24th-seeded Juan Ignacio Chela and 18th-seeded Juan Martin del Potro, the 2009 champion.
No. 17 Jurgen Melzer and No. 30 Ivan Ljubicic lost.
Donald Young upset No. 14 Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland 7-6 (7), 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (1), No. 28 John Isner, who eliminated Robby Ginepri and Alex Bogomolov Jr., who beat Rogerio Dutra da Silva of Brazil.
In an all-American matchup at night, 2003 U.S. Open champion Andy Roddick beat 18-year-old Jack Sock 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. Roddick, who’s seeded 21st, converted all five break points he earned and saved all but one of the seven he faced.
Pennetta called the win over Sharapova of the biggest of her career.
“But it’s just a match,” she said. “It’s over and I have to be focused on the next one.”
Pennetta’s round-of-16 match is against No. 13 Peng Shuai of China, who defeated No. 19 Julia Goerges of Germany, 6-4, 7-6 (1).
The loss by third-seeded Sharapova, the runner-up at Wimbledon this year, kicked yet another top player out of a wide-open draw. Already, the defending Wimbledon and French Open champions have been dispatched and two-time defending U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters didn’t enter because of an injury.
In other women’s matches, 2010 Wimbledon and U.S. Open runner-up Vera Zvonareva beat No. 30 Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-4, 7-5, No. 9 Sam Stosur edged No. 24 Nadia Petrova 7-6 (5), 6-7 (5), 7-5, and No. 13 Peng Shuai defeated No. 19 Julia Goerges 6-4, 7-6 (1).
Sharapova was largely considered the biggest remaining threat to No. 28 Serena Williams.
“It’s disappointing to lose in the middle of nowhere, disappointing to lose in New York,” Sharapova said. “Losing isn’t fun for anyone because we work to win. We don’t work to lose.”
Elsewhere at Flushing Meadows, No. 28 John Isner defeated fellow American Robby Ginepri 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 to get to the third round. Isner, who won the title in Winston-Salem last week, is on a seven-match winning streak and said his confidence is “high as it’s ever been.”
“I feel like I’m moving very well, I’m getting to balls and able to get a lot more balls back in play because I’m very comfortable out there,” Isner said.
Another American, Donald Young, defeated No. 14 Stanislas Wawrinka in a five-setter that took 4 hours, 20 minutes and went to a fifth-set tiebreaker. After the match, Patrick McEnroe, the head of player development for the U.S. Tennis Association, said “In tennis terms, Donald Young became a man today.”
American Christina McHale, 19, lost 6-2, 6-3 to No. 25 Maria Kirilenko of Russia. Earlier, another young American, Irina Falconi, was beaten 6-0, 6-1 by No. 22 Sabine Lisicki of Germany.