Erratic Sharapova makes no excuses after shock exit

By Simon Cambers

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Maria Sharapova made no excuses after the defense of her U.S. Open title ended with a 6-4 1-6 6-2 third-round defeat by Polish teenager Agnieszka Radwanska on Saturday, saying it was simply a bad day at the office.

The second-seeded Russian was well below her best, coughing up 12 double faults and hitting 49 unforced errors but still led 2-0 in the final set only for Radwanska to win six games in a row for victory.

"There are no excuses," Sharapova said. "It's not like today I stepped out on the wrong side of the bed or I did something differently."

In breezy conditions, Sharapova struggled on serve, double-faulting frequently with 18-year-old Radwanska, the 30th seed, standing well inside the baseline to return.

Still the Russian had her chances. She won eight successive games to recover from a set down and lead 2-0 in the decider.

But as the errors flowed from the Sharapova racket, her trademark fighting spirit was strangely lacking and Radwanksa held her nerve for victory.

"Especially being the defending champion, it's tough," Sharapova said.

"It's definitely not an easy day at the office for me. But I could sit here all day long and come up with excuses and say how bad I played. At the end of the day my opponent won the match and I lost it.