also made her the No. 2 player in the world behind Serena Williams. Maria then competed at the Sony Open. Once again she reached the final without dropping a set and faced world No. 1, Serena Williams. Maria started the match strong, winning the first set. However, Serena won the second and dominated the third set. This was Maria's 11th consecutive loss against Serena. Next, she played at the indoor clay event in Stuttgart, where she was the defending champion. Maria was top seed and had a bye in the first round. Her first three matches were long three-setters: she first beat world No. 25, Lucie Šafářová, dropping the second set on a tiebreak, then Ana Ivanovic, then in the semifinals, she won against third seed Angelique Kerber. In the final, in what was her ninth victory against the Chinese out of 14 matches, she beat second seed world No. 5 Li Na in straight sets to win her 29th career title. A week later, she competed at the Madrid Open, reaching the final, again without dropping a set. She faced Serena Williams for the 15th time, losing for the 12th consecutive time in straight sets. Next, she played in Rome, where she was seeded second and had a bye in the first round. She beat 16th seed Sloane Stephens in straight sets (with the loss of three games) in the third round, but then did not play her quarterfinal match against seventh seed Sara Errani and retired from the tournament due to a viral illness. At the French Open, Sharapova reached the final again, beating Azarenka in three sets in the semifinals, but there she lost in straight sets to Serena Williams. At Wimbledon she was comprehensively beaten in the second round by qualifier Michelle Larcher de Brito. Sharapova then returned to the tour at the Western & Southern Open, where she lost her opening match to Sloane Stephens in three sets. A week later Sharapova withdrew from the US Open, citing a shoulder injury, which prematurely ended her season. 2014: Comeback and second French Open title Sharapova had not played since August 2013 due to a recurring shoulder injury and made her comeback at the Brisbane International. She advanced to the semifinals where she was beaten in straight sets by Serena Williams. At the Australian Open, Sharapova, ranked third, was knocked out of the tournament in the fourth