WILLIAMS HAS RULED OVER SHARAPOVA BUT CAN A WEAKER SERENA DO IT AGAIN IS THE QUESTION
SERENA WILLIAMS is getting better in Paris and has a psychological edge over a player she has beaten 18 times on the trot,
Serena Williams will have the psychological advantage when she steps on court today against Maria Sharapova.
The expectation to win the match is on her opponent and the 23-time major winner knows it.
The fact Williams labelled the Sharapova as the favourite to progress from their fourth round encounter at the French Open was classic mind games.
Sharapova has not beaten Williams since July 2004, losing their last 18 encounters in what has been a one-sided rivalry to say the least.
This is Williams’s comeback grand slam following her hiatus from the sport to become a mother for the first time last September. Today’s match will be only her eighth since her return to the WTA Tour in March and she is clearly a work in progress as she looks to rediscover her best.
But she will know, and Sharapova will know, that most within the tennis community have the Russian to win this match.
She has been back in action for a year since her return from a doping ban and has played some good tennis in Paris, and in the build-up tournaments.
If Sharapova cannot beat a Williams lacking match sharpness, then when can she?
That will be the question nagging away at Sharapova, especially if she starts slowly and falls behind early in proceedings.
Williams knows the pressure is on Sharapova and was happy to exploit it by naming her favourite.
Behind the scenes the 36 year old will not believe that for a second. The American did not get to the top and win her array of titles by not backing herself at every turn.
Williams, so long the No 1 in the women’s game, will be enjoying the fact that this is genuinely a match where she has nothing to lose.
Of course, she can lose the match, but in terms of reputation it would have to be a 6-0, 6-0 hammering from Sharapova to really hurt her here.
Clay is Williams’s weakest surface, even though she is a three-time champion at Roland Garros, and she is nowhere near the level that have seen her dominate the women’s game.
Williams can go into this match with the burden of being the favourite on her rival, a situation she will relish.
She may not be at her best but the tenacity and the will to win remains as strong as ever.
She came from a set down to beat 17th seed Ashleigh Barty on Thursday, and then she made a potentially tricky encounter with 11th seed Julia Gorges into a straightforward affair when she won in straight sets on Saturday.
She is getting better the more time she spends on court and Sharapova will be aware that it will not be the player who struggled at Indian Wells and Miami facing her on the other side of the net.
Williams would have had the mindset of using the French Open as a tune-up for Wimbledon next month, her most successful major with seven titles to her name.
But this French Open draw is opening up and a fairytale victory nine months after giving birth is a very real possibility.
Sharapova is playing well, but the mental advantage that Williams has over her, and the fact she is getting better with every match, means it will not be seen as a shock if the American books a spot in the quarter-finals.