Beware of barbs as old foes clash
PARIS: It has been almost two and a half years since Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova last faced off across the net but when it comes to these two great on-court foes, absence does not make the heart grow fonder.
While Sharapova’s quarter-final defeat by Williams at the 2016 Australian Open ended up being the last competitive match the Russian would play for 15 months after she was slapped with a doping ban, her American rival was on a maternity break for most of 2017.
Making her Grand Slam comeback in Paris following the birth of her daughter Alexis Olympia last September, Williams will renew her fierce on-court rivalry with Sharapova today when they meet in a highly-anticipated fourth-round showdown at the French Open.
Their on-court encounters have been a bit of a mismatch because Sharapova has proved to be the kind of prey Williams likes feasting on. Williams, the holder of 23 majors, has strung together an 18-match winning streak against the Russian dating back to 2005.
In her autobiography, Sharapova appears to take credit for that run with a bit of reverse psychology — suggesting that the American was so traumatised by her defeat by the then 17-year-old Russian in the 2004 Wimbledon final that she is still driven on by that memory.
A clearly unimpressed Williams did not hold back when it came to sharing her thoughts on the matter on Saturday.
“The book was 100 percent hearsay, at least all the stuff I read and the quotes that I read, which was a little bit disappointing,” said the 36-year-old.
“I have cried in the locker room many times after a loss, and that’s what I have seen a lot of people do. It’s normal. If anything, it shows the passion and the desire and the will that you have... to go out there and do the best. It’s a Wimbledon final... it would be more shocking if I wasn’t in tears.
“I think what happens there should definitely stay there and not necessarily [be] talked about in a not-so-positive way in a book.”
Sharapova did not want to delve too much into their bitter past on Saturday and instead simply concentrated on the match ahead by saying: “There is a lot of things in her game that she’s done much better than I have. Numbers don’t lie. Despite the record that I have against her, I always look forward to coming out on the court and competing against the best player.”
As far as Williams is concerned, she does not reserve any special on-court treatment for Sharapova — no matter what the Russian divulged in her autobiography.
“Whenever I play her, I go out there the way I play everyone else. I go extremely hard. I don’t play anyone different. I play everyone so hard because they play me really hard and I always have to be ready for it,” said Williams, whose ranking of 451 is not fooling any of her opponents.
She showed that she too can indulge in a bit of reverse psychology. “Quite frankly, she’s probably a favourite in this match, for sure,” Williams said with a smile, knowing full well no one believed her.