VIDEO: Sharapova booed as she leaves court in Paris

A funny thing happened to the defending champion at Roland Garros on Monday. Maria Sharapova heard boos from the forever-fickle French crowd upon winning her first-round match against Kaia Kanepi and then departing from the court without staging an interview with the stadium presenter.

According to Nick McCarvel of USA Today, "The stadium emcee announced that Sharapova's "voice is broken" as the defending champion packed her things on court."

"I totally understand that, you know, everyone usually does post-[match] interview and answers a few questions to the crowd," Sharapova, who is battling a cold, said to press members afterward. "It's absolutely normal. I don't—I'm not making any excuses—but I've got to do what I have to do."

During the match, a decisive 6-2, 6-4 victory, Sharapova's infamous grunt was notably muted and staccato compared to its usual forcefulness. She doesn't foresee the illness affecting her moving forward. "I mean, unless I'm really in my coffin, I'm going to be out there," she said of her impending second-round encounter.

It was hardly the first time Sharapova had been booed in Paris, something that most every (non-French) player suffers during his or her Grand Slam career. Witness this classic response to Sharapova's own exclamation during her 2008 French Open match against Dinara Safina:

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