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She’s a ‘cheater’: Eugenie Bouchard gives Maria Sharapova huge serve

The gloves are off in women’s tennis, with one high-profile player laying into banned doper Maria Sharapova within hours of her controversial return to the game.

Returning to the circuit after a 15-month ban for doping, Sharapova had a hard-fought straight sets win over Italian Roberta Vinci in the first round of the Stuttgart Grand Prix.

Sharapova, 30, received a lukewarm reception Thursday morning (AEST) as she made her way on to the court, with the 4500 spectators offering only polite applause and some whistling.

Several players had expressed dismay in recent week that the Russian star was handed a controversial wildcard for the German tournament, having had no ranking points after more than a year out following her suspension for using banned substance meldonium.

While 2015 US Open runner-up Vinci took a veiled swipe at her opponent, popular Canadian player Eugenie Bouchard, was far more brutal in her assessment, calling the Russian a cheat and saying she deserved a lifetime ban.

“She’s a cheater, and I don’t think a cheater in any sport should be allowed to play that sport again. It’s so unfair to all the other players who do it the right way and are true,” Bouchard told Turkey’s TRT World.

Bouchard, who boasts massive followings on social media, said offering Sharapova such an easy ride back in to the circuit also sent the wrong message to young players worldwide.

“I think from the WTA it sends the wrong message to young kids — ‘cheat and we’ll welcome you back with open arms’. I don’t think that’s right.

“[She’s] definitely not someone I can say I look up to anymore.”

Not here to make friends

Speaking in her post-match press conference, Sharapova brushed off that and other criticism, saying she saw no point in becoming friends with her peers.

“In order to do what? To have nicer things to say about me in press conferences? What will that change to my tennis?” she said after being asked if she would try to mend fences with her fellow players.

“I don’t spend too much time there [in the locker room]. I do my job and my job consists of practising — I’ll go in there and take an ice bath. It’s like 10-15 minutes.

“I’ll change, Ill get my stuff and I’m out of there, so that’s not very impactful in my life.

“I have a great amount of friends at home and all over the world that I speak to. Those matter to me, those friendships really matter to me.”

Sharapova has also received invitations to play in Madrid and Rome, and will find out next month whether she will be given a wildcard for the French Open which starts in late May.

The 30-year-old had a two-year suspension reduced to 15 months after she tested positive at the 2016 Australian Open for meldonium, a medication she had been regularly taking within the rules but which had been later reclassified as a banned drug.

Watch Bouchard slamming Sharapova

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