Sloppy Sharapova knocked out of US Open

Maria Sharapova was knocked out of the US Open on Friday by Italian Flavia Pennetta after the former champion's notoriously shaky serve let her down when it mattered most.

The Russian twice clawed her way back from a seemingly hopeless position to give herself the chance of winning when she threw it away, losing the third-round match 6-3 3-6 6-4.

Needing to hold serve to stay alive, the third seed double faulted twice, bringing her tally for the match to 12 along with 60 unforced errors.

Statistics do not always tell the story but in this case, the numbers provided a damning assessment of the root cause of her defeat.

"Um, yeah, I made way too many unforced errors," Sharapova conceded. "When you get yourself back in a position where you can win again and start making errors, it's just too inconsistent to win the match against her."

Sharapova won the US Open in 2006 but has not won a grand slam title since the 2008 Australian Open and faces a mighty challenge scaling those heights again despite making steady improvements since returning from injury.

She made the final at Wimbledon in July, won a lead-up tournament in Cincinnati and has lost none of her fighting qualities but it has been lean times in the majors for the former world number one.

Sharapova had won all 12 three-set matches she played this year and could not hide her disappointment after coming from a set down then 4-1 behind in the final set to get to 4-4.

"Losing isn't fun for anyone because we work to win," said Sharapova. "We don't work to try to lose. So when we're faced with a position where we can win and we didn't in the end, it's tough."

For Pennetta, a quarter-finalist at Flushing Meadows in 2008 and 2009 who is seeded 26th, it was a moment to savour as she celebrated her victory on a baking hot day inside the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"This one is one of the best victories in my career, and is gonna be like this forever," she said. "It's a good moment. I'm really happy right now but it's just a match. It's over, and I have to be focused for the next one."

Pennetta's next opponent is China's Peng Shuai, the 13th seed, who advanced with a 6-4 7-6 win over Julia Goerges of Germany.

"She's really aggressive in her game. She serves really good. I have to be really aggressive and try to move her a lot," said Pennetta. "I can say a lot of things, but now I just want to enjoy this moment really."

 Flavia Pennetta of Italy (R) shakes hands with Maria Sharapova of Russia celebrates after defeating Sharapova during their match at the US Open tennis tournament in New York (Photo: Reuters)

 Flavia Pennetta of Italy celebrates after defeating Maria Sharapova of Russia during their match at the US Open tennis tournament in New York, September 2, 2011 (Photo: Reuters)

Flavia Pennetta of Italy celebrates after defeating Maria Sharapova of Russia during their match at the US Open tennis tournament in New York (Photo: Reuters)