London: Serena Williams survived a scare to book a Wimbledon semi-final showdown with old rival Maria Sharapova.
The American is powerful and known for her aggressive approach, on the other hand, you have the Serbian, who is a cool customer and is loved by the media.
And if their personalities weren’t quite contrasting enough, throw in the old rivalry, and you have the recipe for an epic match.
(Reuters Photo)
The Old Rivalry Comes To The Fore
The rivalry between Serena and Sharapova is undoubtedly the biggest tennis fans have seen in a long time
Sharapova’s boyfriend, Grigor Dimitrov, is Serena’s ex. Yes, that makes it really awkward for the two women, who are facing each other at such a juncture.
Their enmity became apparent, when Serena during an interview in 2013 to Rolling Stone magazine spoke to her sister on the phone and mocked Sharapova saying, ‘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, go for it'.
And to Serena’s embarrassment, the comments were made public. The ‘guy with the black heart’, Serena is referring to was Dimitrov. Both were apparently together in 2012, as the two were being coached by Frenchman Patrick Mouratoglou. But after Dimitrov joined another coach, he also dumped Serena and Started dating Sharapova.
The rivalry got worse when Sharapova made Serena’s relationship with Mouratoglou public.
Sharapova said: ‘If she wants to talk about something personal, maybe she should talk about her relationship and her boyfriend that was married and is getting a divorce and has kids.’
(Reuters Photo)
Battleground Wimbledon Semi-final
Maria Sharapova will look to end 11 years of misery when she tackles her bitter rival for a place in the Wimbledon final.
The Russian superstar has collected five Grand Slam titles, including the 2004 Wimbledon crown, and built a global brand that makes her the world's highest-paid female athlete.
But the 28-year-old has still been left trailing in Serena's wake and she hasn't come out on top since 2004.
The 33-year-old American has a 17-2 lead in their head to head record, winning their last 16 meetings and depriving Sharapova of three major titles, in the 2007 and 2015 Australian Open finals and the 2013 French Open final.
Serena has also won all four of her semi-final meetings with Sharapova, defeated the Russian in their previous Wimbledon clash in the last 16 in 2010 and routed her in the 2012 Olympic final at the All England Club.
After battling back to defeat Victoria Azarenka in the last eight, extending her winning run at Grand Slams to 26 matches and her 2015 record to 37-1, Serena can't wait to take on Sharapova again.
"I love playing Maria. I think she brings out the best in me. I thought we had a wonderful final in Australia," said Serena, who remains on course to hold all four major titles at once and is in the hunt to clinch the first calendar Grand Slam since 1988.
"For me, I don't feel like I have any pressure going into this match.
"It's just totally different for me. I don't have anything to prove. I won all the Grand Slams, multiple times. Now it's just I'm here just to enjoy it."
Sharapova caused one of the great Wimbledon shocks 11 years ago when, aged just 17, she defeated Serena in the final to claim her first Grand Slam title.
(Reuters Photo)
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