- Maria Sharapova played against Tatjana Maria at the Australian Open on Monday
- The scoreboard listed both the players’ surnames, reading ‘Maria Sharapova’
- Tennis fans were left in hysterics over the coincidental favouring of Sharapova
Tennis legend Maria Sharapova made a triumphant return to the Australian Open on Tuesday, powering past opponent Tatjana Maria during her first match.
However, despite the exciting game many tennis fans were had their eyes on the scoreboard rather than the court.
As tennis scoreboards only list the players’ first initial and surname it read T. Maria, M. Sharapova, or simply Maria Sharapova.
Maria Sharapova made a triumphant return to the Australian Open on Tuesday powering past opponent Tatjana Maria during her first match
However, most fans admitted that they were rather distracted by the ‘biased’ scoreboard as it read T. Maria, M. Sharapova, or simply Maria Sharapova
The coincidence left sporting fans in hysterics with many taking to Twitter to point out that the board appeared rather biased in favour of the Russian player.
Said one fan: ‘Maria Sharapova is playing Tatjana Maria right now in the #AusOpen, but it just looks like the scoreboard is biased.’
Another admitted to finding the coincidence rather distracting, tweeting: ‘Watching Maria Sharapova match: 1% watching the match 99% staring at the scoreboard and laughing’.
Several admitted that they had initially been flummoxed by the apparent doubling up of Sharapova’s name.
Viewers took to Twitter tickled by the coincidence that seemed to favour the Russian player
Many admitted that they had found the scoreboard more entertaining than the match itself
One wrote: ‘Had to look twice to make sure Maria Sharapova wasn’t playing herself’.
Meanwhile some suggested that the scoreboard had predicted Sharapova’s eventual win.
‘The fact that she’s playing someone with the surname “maria” so the scoreboard reads maria sharapova. casually foreshadowing the title winner (sic)’ commented one fan.
Others said that the coincidence was foreshadowing Sharapova’s win against her German opponent
Sharapova came through with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Maria (pictured) that lasted 78 minutes
And it seems that the scoreboard was rightly in Sharapova’s favour as the Russian who came through with a 6-1, 6-4 win over her German opponent that lasted 78 minutes.
Sharapova will now play Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova, the player who defeated her in the US Open fourth round.
This was Sharapova’s first time back since failing a doping test at the 2016 event, and her second Grand Slam since the ensuing suspension ended.
Unlike at the US Open, she was not put straight on the main stadium court, but the secondary Margaret Court Arena, which was bathed in the sunlight of a cloudless Melbourne day.
She hit 22 winners against the seven of her opponent.