Russian goes out to Donna Vekic in opening roundSharapova world ranking projected to drop to No 366Maria Sharapova offered no guarantees that she will be back at the
Australian Open after a first-round defeat against Donna Vekic on Tuesday. Ongoing shoulder problems limited Sharapova to a handful of tournaments last year and her ranking is projected to drop to world No 366 as a result of the 6-3, 6-4 loss to the 19th-seeded Croatian.
Sharapova needed a wildcard to play at Melbourne Park, where she won the title in 2008, and had good recent memories having reached the fourth round last year, beating defending champion Caroline Wozniacki.