Sharapova finally got a win under her belt (Picture: Getty)

Maria Sharapova finally snapped her losing streak with a first-round victory at the Madrid Open and the Russian defiantly proclaimed that she’s not just sticking around to make up the numbers on the WTA Tour.

The Russian had lost her last four matches heading to the Caja Magica, suffering first-round exits in Doha, Indian Wells and Stuttgart after losing to Angelique Kerber at the Australian Open, but she bounced back with a comprehensive 6-4 6-1 win against Mihaela Buzarnescu.

Since her return from a drugs ban in 2017, the five-time Grand Slam champion has struggled for form and fitness and has found life particularly frustrating in recent months.



However, the 31-year-old insisted she is gunning for a return to the top of the sport and that her current ranking of No. 53 is simply not up to her lofty standards.


She said after her first-round win: ‘I mean, if you’re asking me if I want to be losing early in a tournament and then withdrawing from a tournament while being injured and not competing for three or four weeks, then no, that’s definitely not what I expect, and that’s definitely not what I want to be doing.

Sharapova is determined to keep improving (Picture: Getty)

‘Do I want to be ranked 60, 70 in the world? No, I don’t. Do I want to be losing first round? Absolutely not.

‘That’s why I’m still here, is because I’m not satisfied with those things and because I keep looking and getting better and working on things, making adjustments, not being stubborn on things that I believe will make me better.

‘That’s really what I can do for myself in my career, just like everybody else, no matter what their career is. Mine just happens to be in front of thousands of people. The losses are a little bit tougher, on a different level.

The 31-year-old will face Begu on Monday (Picture: Getty)

‘But we all face the same vulnerabilities, sometimes the same success, sometimes the same losses, whether it’s personal, professional.

No, those are situations I don’t want to be in. I don’t want to wait 10 days to play another match. I’m a competitor. I want to go out and I want to improve and get better.’

Sharapova will go on to face another Romanian in round two, as she takes on Jelena Ostapenko’s conqueror Irina-Camelia Begu on Monday.