Sharapova saved four match points in a wild, 14-point final game. But on the fifth she pushed an easy forehand long, and she was out of the tournament after two rounds for the second year in a row.
The 2004 champion was playing in her fourth event since rejoining the tour last month following shoulder surgery in October. She's ranked 60th but was seeded 24th because of past success at the All England Club.
Dulko, ranked 45th, matched her best showing at Wimbledon by reaching the third round. She had won a total of only three games in two previous matches against Sharapova, but the Argentine repeatedly won points by hitting drop shots, while Sharapova struggled with her serve and forehand.
The day's first match on Centre Court was played in warm sunshine, and the new roof remained open for a third consecutive day. Dulko played almost flawless tennis at the start, committing only four unforced errors in the first 11 games.
But leading 3-love in the second set, she began spraying her shots, and Sharapova took advantage to win seven consecutive games.
Sharapova then wobbled, double-faulting to lose serve and fall behind 2-1 in the final set. She double-faulted twice in a row and lost serve at love to fall behind to stay, 4-3.
With Dulko serving in the final game, Sharapova lost two challenges as she fell behind 40-15. Always at her best under pressure, Sharapova hit a booming return and a feathery drop shot to overcome the first two match points, and her return winner erased another.
But with a point for 5-all, Sharapova pushed a backhand into the net, and she made errors on the final two points as well.
Sharapova fell to 6-1 this year in three-set matches. She finished with nine double-faults and had at least one in every service game in the final set.
On Court 1, Novak Djokovic cruised into the third round with a straight-set win over Simon Greul of Germany.
The fourth-seeded Djokovic won eight straight games after going down 1-0 in the second set to secure a 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 victory.
The Serb threw his racket in anger after being broken to start the second set, and also struggled with his serve in the third. He traded breaks twice with Greul before getting a decisive breakthrough to go up 5-4.
Djokovic will next play No. 28-seeded Mardy Fish of the United States, who matched his best showing at Wimbledon by reaching the third round when he beat Janko Tipsarevic 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.
On the women's side, No. 16 Zheng Jie, a semifinalist as a wild card last year, lost to Daniela Hantuchova 6-3, 7-5. No. 10 Nadia Petrova, No. 14 Dominika Cibulkova and No. 26 Virginie Razzano won.
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