Williams vs. Sharapova no love match
Unflattering book excerpts and drug ban backdrop to rivalry reboot with fourth-round showdown set
PARIS— If the upcoming French Open showdown between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova provides any of the sort of animus and back-and-forth they manage to stir up away from the court, look out.
During a news conference after both won Saturday to set up the longtime rivals’ fourthround matchup at Roland Garros, Williams criticized Sharapova’s autobiography as “hearsay” and twice brought up the Russian’s15-month doping ban.
Producing by far the best performance so far in her return to Grand Slam tennis —16 months after her last major tournament and nine months after having a baby — Williams played cleanly and powerfully in a 6-3, 6-4 tour de force against 11th-seeded Julia Goerges that lasted a mere 75 minutes and lacked much in the way of theatrics.
“There is still a ways to go, but it’s moving in the right direction,” said Williams, who made only three unforced errors in the first set, 12 in all, in front of a crowd that included former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. “And I think that as long as it’s moving in the right direction, I know I will get there.”
Sharapova advanced with a similarly lopsided win: 6-2, 6-1 over 2016 U.S. Open runner-up Karolina Pliskova.
Now comes the drama: Williams vs. Sharapova on Monday with a quarterfinal spot at stake.
They have verbally clashed in the past, including a public spat about their private lives in 2013.
Williams, 36, owns 23 major singles titles. Sharapova, 31, has won five. Williams has won the French Open three times, Sharapova twice. They are the only active women with a career Grand Slam; they are two of six in history to accomplish that. Both have been ranked No. 1.
But the head-to-head history is overwhelmingly in Williams’ favour: She has won 19 of 21 meetings, including 18 in a row.
“Quite frankly, she’s probably a favourite in this match, for sure,” Williams said with a chuckle. “She’s been playing ... for over a year now. I just started. So I’m just really trying to get my bearings and trying to feel out where I am and see where I can go.”
The last time Sharapova beat Williams was in 2004.
The last time they played was in the 2016 Australian Open quarterfinals, Sharapova’s final appearance before her 15month drug suspension.
“Well, it’s been a while,” Sharapova said, “and I think a lot has happened in our lives for the both of us, in very different ways.”
Williams was asked about Sharapova’s book, published last year. It contains quite a bit of material about the American, including a reference to Williams crying in the locker room after losing to Sharapova in the Wimbledon final 14 years ago.
“As a fan, I wanted to read the book and I was really excited for it to come out and I was really happy for her. And then the book was a lot about me. I was surprised about that, to be honest,” Williams said. “I was like, ‘Oh, OK, I didn’t expect to be reading a book about me — that wasn’t necessarily true.’ ”
Insisting she doesn’t have “any negative feelings” toward Sharapova, Williams said “the success of one female should be the inspiration to another.”
Seconds later, Williams made reference to Sharapova’s “incident of drugs.”
There were plenty of other results involving top names on Saturday. Other women moving into the fourth round included 2016 champion Garbine Muguruza and two-time runner-up Simona Halep. Men’s winners included 10-time champion Rafael Nadal. The story of day seven, though, was what everyone can look forward to on day nine: Williams vs. Sharapova.
“Any time you play against Serena, you know what you’re up against. You know the challenge that is upon you,” Sharapova said. “Despite the record that I have against her, I always look forward to coming out on the court and competing against the best players.”