2014 French Open: Grigor Dimitrov Loses, Maria Sharapova Advances

Maria Sharapova of Russia hits a return to compatriot Ksenia Pervak during their women's singles match at the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris May 26, 2014. REUTERS

Tennis power couple Grigor Dimitrov and Maria Sharapova are participants in the 2014 French Open. The top-ranked Bulgarian athlete Dimitrov has already slipped out, while his girlfriend Sharapova cruised through the first round of the tournament.

Dimitrov lost in three sets to Croatian Ivo Karlovic, with the final score of 4-6, 5-7, 6-7(4).

The match was a sure win for Karlovic off the ground. Dimitrov couldn't keep pace with Karlovic, who hit 22 aces and only lost seven of his service points to defeat Bulgarian, ATPworldtour.com reported. It was Karlovic's 40^th win in clay. Karlovic has certainly avenged the loss that he suffered from Dimitrov during in the second round of the 2014 Italian Open.

"It's never easy to play against Ivo," Dimitrov said. "Of course, it is a big disappointment for me," he added.

"I like my chances here. I've been playing good tennis on the clay courts, so I don't want to be too disappointed."

According to an ESPN report on the 2014 clay rankings, Dimitrov ranks sixth place. He had won in two tournaments so far, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Abierto Mexicano Telcel and the ATP BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy.

"He played really good. He came from playing a final last week and was really confident. He played really good tennis, serving well, and actually - all around the court - his shots were really good."

"It was a very tough task for me today, especially if everything was going his way. I just couldn't find my rhythm and I couldn't convert any of the little opportunities that I had in the match."

Meanwhile, Dimitrov still has something to look forward to in the 2014 French Open after his girlfriend Sharapova has advanced in the second round. Sharapova, who is also doing well in clay court tournaments, defeated fellow Russian Ksenia Pervak, 6-1, 6-2. It was an easy opening win for Sharapova after suffering her first loss in clay tournaments against Serbian Ana Ivanovic in the Italian Open.

Sharapova will play against Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova in the second round.