Bulgarian tennis hopeful Tsvetana Pironkova lost 6:7, 7:6, 0:6 to world No 1 Maria Sharapova in the second round of the Wimbledon Grand Slam tournament.

Sharapova faced difficulties on Monday, having to save five set points against the Bulgarian before winning the opening set on a tiebreak. The match was then brought to an end due to bad light.

Pironkova started the brighter on Thursday, as the second tiebreak went her way.

However, the 24-year-old Bulgarian lost it in the third set, as the determined Russian won a crucial brake early on that dealt a major blow to her opponent’s confidence.

The Bulgarian had reached the semi-finals in 2010 and quarter-finals in 2011, beating Venus Williams on both occasions.

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