Serena Williams-Maria Sharapova feud looks set to ignite again
The Serena Williams-Maria Sharapova feud looks set to ignite again tonight during their first encounter since the Russian tested positive for meldonium.
When Maria Sharapova’s autobiography was released in September, it is a safe assumption that the title did not go unnoticed by the Serena Williams camp. Unstoppable was a curious choice for a player who has lost 18 consecutive times to her old foe since last defeating her at the 2004 WTA Finals.
On Saturday evening it emerged that the book’s contents had not passed by Williams, one of its main protagonists, either. Referring to it as “100 per cent hearsay”, the 23-times grand-slam singles champion expressed surprise that “the book was a lot about me”.
It has stoked the fire and whetted the appetite for the most anticipated match-up at this year’s French Open. One is hesitant to bill it as a renewal of their rivalry — it is their first meeting since the 2016 Australian Open quarter-finals, after which Sharapova tested positive for the banned substance meldonium — because the head-to-head record is so lop-sided in favour of Williams at 19-2, but there will certainly be a fierce competitive edge to tonight's unmissable last-16 encounter.
Sharapova, a two-times Roland Garros champion, has not had a better opportunity for some time to end her miserable streak. Since June 2010, she has won one of the 29 sets contested with Williams. Yet, this time, the circumstances leading into the match will give the Russian hope that she can win two sets off an opponent who is playing her first grand-slam tournament since giving birth in September.
“She’s probably a favourite in this match, for sure,” Williams admitted. “She has been playing for over a year now. I’ve just started, so I am just really trying to get my bearing, trying to feel out where I am and see where I can go.
“This will be another test. This is one of her best surfaces, and she always does really, really well here. So this is a good opportunity to see where I am and just hopefully continue to go forward.”
Williams claimed on Saturday that she does not feel any negativity towards Sharapova, but you will not find many in tennis circles who believe that. Just five months ago, a Williams super-fan on Twitter posted a sheepish admission of support for Sharapova before her match against Angelique Kerber at the Australian Open. Williams disapprovingly replied with a blank-face emoji.
Sharapova’s explanation in her autobiography of an apparent obsession with Williams was nothing short of antagonistic. Stories were told of hiding in a shed at the age of 12 to spy on a Williams practice session, refusing to stand to welcome her during the traditional champions’ entrance at the Wimbledon dinner in 2002 and the intimidation that she felt from her “thick arms” and “thick legs” during their first match in Miami in 2004.
What most disappointed Williams, though, is the description by Sharapova of her “guttural sobs” in the private sanctuary of the Wimbledon locker room after the 2004 final, in which Sharapova beat Williams to win her maiden grand-slam title at the age of 17.
“I think Serena hated me for being the skinny kid who beat her, against all odds, at Wimbledon,” Sharapova wrote. “But mostly I think she hated me for hearing her cry. Not long after the tournament, I heard Serena told a friend — who then told me — “I will never lose to that little b**** again.’”
This soap opera has clearly had a detrimental impact mentally on Sharapova when it comes to facing Williams on the court. While Williams at her best technically is too strong for Sharapova — and anyone else on the women’s tour — the failure of the latter to win a set in most of their recent meetings must also involve psychological factors.
Not that Sharapova will admit it. “I think there is a lot of things in her game that she’s done much better than I have,” she said. “Numbers don’t lie.
“Despite the record that I have against her, I always look forward to competing against the best player.”
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