Muguruza deals Sharapova humbling loss

PARIS – Garbine Muguruza thrashed Maria Sharapova 6-2, 6-1 to reach the French Open semifinals on Wednesday, condemning the Russian to her worst Grand Slam defeat in more than six years.

The Spanish third seed, who was the champion in Paris in 2016, will face either top seed Simona Halep or two-time major winner Angelique Kerber for a place in Saturday’s final.

Sharapova, playing at Roland Garros for the first time since 2015, suffered her most one-sided defeat at the Slams since a 6-3, 6-0 loss to Victoria Azarenka in the 2012 Australian Open final.

Sharapova, who missed the 2016 tournament because of a doping ban and last year after she was refused a wild card, was broken six times, committed 27 unforced errors and won just five points on her own serve in the second set.

In men’s play Novak Djokovic, bothered by neck and leg problems, went from two sets down to the verge of forcing a fifth, but he frittered away good chances and in the end was beaten by the 72nd-ranked Marco Cecchinato 6-3, 7-6 (4), 1-6, 7-6 (11) in a rollicking match filled with engaging exchanges and plenty of drama.