Almost two years since Maria Sharapova returned from her doping ban, she has yet to regain her former authority on the court, and neither has she shown a hint of remorse.

Both of these points were driven home on Sunday. First Sharapova suffered a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 defeat at the hands of Australia’s local heroine Ashleigh Barty. Then she declined to answer a perfectly relevant question about the challenge of finding an alternative medication to meldonium, which was outlawed by WADA at the start of 2016.

When Sharapova first revealed the details of her positive test, she said that she had used the drug because of a magnesium deficiency and a family history of diabetes. Coincidentally or not, her effectiveness in deciding sets has fallen since she stopped taking it, from a 76 per cent success rate beforehand to 52 per cent thereafter.

Asked whether it is difficult to deal with the physical demands of a grand slam without her former medication, Sharapova put her hand to her forehead, then pursed her lips and replied “Is there another question?”

Sharapova seems to like acting as if she were the victim. But there are plenty of other players in the locker-room who have expressed dissatisfaction about her acknowledged use of meldonium for ten years. Her notoriety may also help to explain why the Melbourne fans booed her on Sunday, as she returned from what they saw as a tactical bathroom break at the end of the second set.