round by the 20th seed, and eventual finalist, Dominika Cibulková. Sharapova lost the match in three sets. She then participated in Open GdF Suez where she was upset in the semifinals to fellow Russian and eventual tournament winner Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, in three sets. In March, playing in the Indian Wells Open, she was beaten by 22-year-old Italian Camila Giorgi in the third round, in three sets. Therefore, due to the WTA ranking system, this would mean another drop in ranking, bringing her to world No. 7. She reached the semifinals in Miami, facing Serena Williams in a rematch of last year's final and lost her 15th consecutive match to Williams. In April, she won Stuttgart Open, her first title of the year and 30th of her career by defeating Ana Ivanovic in three sets. Stuttgart is the only tournament Sharapova won three times. In May, Maria won the Madrid Open, her second title of the year and first in Madrid, defeating Simona Halep in three sets. With nine clay titles, she joins Venus Williams as the third most successful active player on the surface. Sharapova then competed in the Italian Open in Rome, where she made the third round. She lost to Ana Ivanovic in straight sets. Sharapova was seeded seventh at the French Open and defeated Ksenia Pervak, Tsvetana Pironkova, and Paula Ormaechea in the first three rounds, all in straight sets. In the fourth round she defeated Samantha Stosur, reeling off nine straight games from a set and 3–4 down. This marked her 14th win in 16 meetings with the Australian. In the quarters, she defeated Garbiñe Muguruza, again coming back from a set down, to reach the semifinals at the French for the fourth consecutive year. In the semifinals, she defeated Eugenie Bouchard, once again coming back from a set down, to reach her third consecutive French Open final. In the final, she defeated Simona Halep in three sets to win her second French Open title and fifth overall Major title. This was the first time since 2001 where a third set was contested in the final. The match took just over three hours, and has been described as one of the best women's finals in recent years. At Wimbledon, Sharapova reached the fourth round, where she lost to Angelique Kerber, the ninth seed, in three sets. Sharapova then played the Rogers Cup in Montreal where she