Serena, Sharapova will renew rivalry

PARIS — If the upcoming French Open showdown between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova provides any of the sort of animus and backand-forth they manage to stir up away from the court, look out.

Producing by far the best performance in her return to Grand Slam tennis, Williams played cleanly and powerfully in a 6-3, 6-4 tour de force against 11thseeded Julia Goerges that lasted a mere 75 minutes.

“There is still a ways to go, but it’s moving in the right direction,” Williams said.

Sharapova advanced with a similarly lopsided win, 6-2, 6-1 against 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, such as a 2013 public spat about their private lives.

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’ favor: She has won 19 of 21 meetings, including 18 in a row.

The last time they played was in the 2016 Australian Open quarterfinals, Sharapova’s final appearance before her 15-month drug suspension.

“Well, it’s been awhile,” Sharapova said, “and I think a lot has happened in our lives for the both of us, in very different ways.”

There were plenty of other results involving top names Saturday. Other women moving into the fourth round included 2016 champion Garbine Muguruza, two-time runner-up Simona Halep, two-time major title winner Angelique Kerber and reigning U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens. Men’s winners included 10-time champion and top seed Rafael Nadal, No. 3 Marin Cilic, No. 5 Juan Martin del Potro, No. 6 Kevin Anderson and No. 9 John Isner.