Tennis:Maria Sharapova's French Open title dreams were crushed in emphatic fashion by Dominika Cibulkova today. The Slovak was utterly dominant as she recorded a stunning 6-0 6-2 victory to reach the semi-finals.
While the result may not have been the biggest shock - Sharapova only recently returned to action after a nine-month injury lay-off - the scoreline certainly was.
The errors flowed from the former Wimbledon champion's racquet - 13 in the set to Cibulkova's one - and the set was over in just 30 minutes.
Cibulkova, the 20th seed, immediately broke serve at the start of the second to maintain the momentum.
When the score progressed to 5-0, Sharapova stood on the brink of the feared 'double bagel' beating.
She managed to prevent that embarrassment and also staved off several match points as Cibulkova served for the match a second time.
However, the Slovakian finally managed to grab her chance, leaving Sharapova to wait at least another 12 months to capture the one Grand Slam title she has yet to claim.
Afterwards Sharapova said her shoulder, on which she had undergone surgery, was not the reason for the loss.
However, she did suggest a run of three-set matches so soon after her return had been a factor.
"I guess you could only ask your body to do so much. You know, everything fell a little short today. The pace wasn't there on my strokes, and I was five steps slower today.
"I think everything kind of combines. The fact that, you know, she just played really solid and made me hit a lot of balls and I came up short today."
Meanwhile, Cibulkova progresses to her first Grand Slam semi-final where she will meet top seed Dinara Safina and the 20-year-old says there is still room for improvement in her game.
"Today I was playing really solid. I was playing very solid from the baseline. I think I made really just not a lot of unforced errors.
"I was returning well and my serve was like so-so today. It was not the best, but I knew if I played solid and if I make her move and if I play well, then I have this chance."