September 4, 2004 Pierce Stuns Wimbledon Champ Sharapova FLUSHING MEADOWS, NY - Being a Grand Slam champion has proved to be of little benefit at the 2004 US Open, with two of the three reigning major titleholders bowing out before the fourth round. Russia's first two Slam winners have been shown the exit door - firstly Roland Garros champion Anastasia Myskina in the second round by 17-year-old compatriot Anna Chakvetadze and on Saturday, Wimbledon titleholder Maria Sharapova by French veteran Mary Pierce, 46 62 63. No.7-seeded Sharapova (pictured) has struggled since her triumph at the All England Club in July, going 3-3 heading into the US Open. Once in New York, the matches didn't get any easier, needing three sets to beat Laura Granville and Jelena Jankovic. On Saturday, Sharapova was again pushed to a final set, and again it appeared she would prevail, leading 2-0. But 27 th-seeded Pierce held her nerve to win six of the next seven games to reach the fourth round here for the ninth time in her career. It's been a lean few years since 29-year-old Pierce won Roland Garros in 2000, suffering from a long list of injuries to her shoulder, ankles, back and stomach. After falling as low as No.295 in 2002, Pierce is back inside the Top 30 and her third round win over world No.7 Sharapova was her first over a Top 10 player in nearly a year. "It just feels really good," said a jubilant Pierce. "After everything that I have been through, and the last few years have been really difficult, those moments just are a lot sweeter and mean a lot more to me. "I just love what I do so much more now than I did before, and I just appreciate it so much more. It's also nice because I believe in myself and it's nice to have that confirmation actually happen in reality." Sharapova, whose loss was the joint earliest at the US Open by a Wimbledon champion in the Open Era, acknowledged Pierce's experience in high-pressure situations. "I think the major problem was that I tried to do too much at a certain time when I didn't need to do it," said Sharapova. "And she's an experienced player and she knows what it takes. I think I've just got to learn those things. Especially on my serve, I just went for too much at the wrong times." During the match, Sharapova wore a black ribbon showing her sympathy to those affected by the recent massacre in the Russian town of Beslan. "I came up with the idea last night," said of wearing the ribbon. "I thought, just to show my support for the victims and for the families (and) what happened to them. "Some of the other (Russian) girls in the locker room picked it up, too. It just shows that my loss is just... what's going on in the world today, my loss, it's a little thing." Pierce plays Svetlana Kuznetsova for a quarterfinal berth after the No.9-seeded Russian outlasted Amy Frazier 76(3) 75. Frazier was playing her 18th consecutive US Open (a record among active players) and 63rd Grand Slam event overall. ---- 皮姐那幾年受的傷好多 -- ---禪心已作沾泥絮，莫向春風舞鷓鴣--- --

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