Serena, Maria serve up barbs in off-court spat

LONDON: They’re the two biggest stars of women’s tennis with their talent matched only by their mutual dislike of each another.

And the chill in relations between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova showed no sign of thawing.

The intense rivalry is made all the more complex off court by the two women’s deeply intertwined personal lives.

In a prickly press conference before this week’s Wimbledon Championships, Sharapova, 26, fired the opening salvo of the fortnight.

She berated world No 1 Williams for comments made in an interview in the US about her being “boring”. Sharapova – who is dating Serena’s ex-boyfriend Grigor Dimitrov – was also scathing about Serena’s relationship with married tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou.

Williams, 31, had said of her fierce rival: “There are people who live, breathe and dress tennis. I mean, seriously, give it a rest.

“She begins every interview with ‘I’m so happy. I’m so lucky’. It’s so boring. She’s still not going to be invited to the cool parties. And hey, if she wants to be with the guy with a black heart [Dimitrov], go for it.”

The Russian-born world No 3 hit back: “If Serena wants to talk about something personal, she should talk about her relationship and her boyfriend who was married, who is getting a divorce and who has kids – and not draw attention to other things.”

Sharapova and Williams, 31, have had a notoriously competitive relationship on the court, which is fuelled by the fact that Sharapova hasn’t beaten her rival in nine years. – Daily Mail

FIRED-UP FOES: Maria Sharapova, left, and Serena Williams have a fiercely competitive relationship.