Maria Sharapova did not go quietly.

No, her departure from the French Open on Monday was filled with sound and fury: her stroke-accompanying shrieks, her self-loathing shouts between points and the spectators' hearty boos and high-pitched whistles that ushered the No. 1-seeded woman to the exit.

Russia's Maria Sharapova reacts during her match against compatriot Dinara Safina in Paris on Monday.

One point from reaching the quarterfinals at the only grand slam tournament she's never won, Sharapova allowed every bit of a significant lead to slip away and collapsed to a 6-7 (6), 7-6 (5), 6-2 defeat against No. 13 Dinara Safina.

"Oh, I was angry," Sharapova said. "I was angry for making unforced errors, for not taking some of those balls and just ripping them."

With last month's retirement of top-ranked Justine Henin, and last week's losses by Venus and Serena Williams, Sharapova appeared to have a clearer-than-usual path to success at the clay-court major. She was one of only two women with a slam title to her credit among the final 16 players, but will have to wait for another year in Paris.

She led 5-2 in the second set, and went up 40-30 while serving for the match at 5-3. But Safina erased that chance with a backhand winner, and eventually broke when Sharapova missed a forehand. In the ensuing tiebreaker, Sharapova took a 5-2 lead, but Safina claimed five straight points.

"It can go in the wrong direction really fast," Sharapova said. "It just started going that way."

Things really began to fall apart for Sharapova when she served while trailing 3-2 in the third set. At 15-love, Safina's forehand landed near a line, and Sharapova missed a backhand. Sharapova asked the chair umpire to check the mark from Safina's shot, drawing scattered noise from the crowd, and the call stood.

On the next point, Sharapova botched a sitter and put a forehand into the net - drawing cheers, generally considered a breach of etiquette among tennis spectators.

Another short ball came at 15-30, and perhaps wary of another miscue, Sharapova sent it back cautiously, allowing Safina to pound a forehand. That prompted a scream from Sharapova. As play proceeded, her yells became louder and louder as she berated herself, at least once with colorful language.

"You sometimes get a little too negative on yourself," Sharapova said.

After erasing three break points in that game, Sharapova netted two forehands in a row, ceding the break. Now it was Safina's turn to let it out: She raised a fist and bellowed. A match in which she was playing from so far behind for so long was now in her control, and she did not let go, collecting 10 of the final 12 points, including Sharapova's seventh double-fault of the match, 43rd of the tournament.

When it ended, Safina dropped to her knees to celebrate. Sharapova quickly collected her things and left without acknowledging the fans who jeered her on the way out.

"I can't please everyone. That's not in my 'J.D.' - not in my job description," she said. "I mean, they paid the ticket to watch me," she added, "so they must appreciate me on some level, right?"

Sharapova moved up from No. 2 to No. 1 when Henin quit, but the stay might be brief. Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic and Kuznetsova all could lead the rankings by the end of the week. Sharapova was asked about the possibility of losing her spot at the top.

Her reply? "Boohoo."

(Agencies via Shanghai Daily June 4, 2008)