HAVING garnered the most column inches ever for her on-court wardrobe at this year's Wimbledon championships, Maria Sharapova is out of the contest - and she's only got her fixation on fashion to blame, according to the opponent who triumphed over her in only the second round.
"It's very pleasant to beat Maria. I don't like her outfit," says Russian ace Alla Kudryavtseva, who won an impressive 6-2, 6-4 victory over the number three seed yesterday. "Can I put it this way? It was one of my motivations to beat her."
For her part, Sharapova - who ruffled feathers with her decision to play in a tuxedo-style shorts suit, designed especially for her by Nike - remained gracious in defeat.
"I guess it wasn't my day," she told The Times. "She just did everything better than I did. She played much better. She had nothing to lose. She went for her shots. I was just pretty tentative."
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