One of these days, Maria Sharapova might actually defeat Serena Williams. Probably not soon. But perhaps someday. Maybe. Such as when Serena is old and grey and sitting in a rocking chair on her front porch shouting at Maria to get off her grass. Of course, if that grass were at Wimbledon, Sharapova still would lose.
Or for that matter, Sharapova probably would lose if she were on hard courts or clay courts, or sand or ice. Because it doesn’t matter the surface or where these two play: Serena always wins.
Is there a more lopsided rivalry in all of sports? Williams and Sharapova have played each other 21 times, and Serena has won 19 of the matches, including the past 18. She hasn’t lost to Sharapova since 2004.
“I’m not sure why,” Williams said when asked to explain the nearly 12-year winning streak. “It doesn’t matter who I’m playing, I just try to go out there and play the best I can. It’s not necessarily anyone in particular.
“I don’t know. Something about her game. I like the way she hits the ball. Plus, when I play her, I know automatically I have to step up my game. I think that makes me play better.”
The general view heading into this match was that for Sharapova to win, Serena would have to play less than her best, while Sharapova would have to serve better. And Sharapova did have two things going for her:
She had been serving well this tournament, leading all women in aces — with more than twice as many as Williams (52-25). Meanwhile, Serena said she was feeling the effects of recent food poisoning and took the court feeling “a little lethargic.”
Not that either of those mattered. Sharapova simply didn’t have it on Tuesday at the Australian Open, committing seven double faults, including six in the first set. And Serena perked up enough to out-ace her 13-3.
Oh, Sharapova did win the first two games, mostly because Serena was sluggish and missed too many shots. That led to the possibility that this might finally be the day the streak ended. Then Serena must have suddenly remembered that despite her record against Sharapova, she still has to actually play well. So just as Sharapova might have been saying, “I think I can, I think I can,” Serena lifted her game to its usual level. And then Sharapova’s collapsed.
