Mexico City /
In his 2017 autobiography Unstoppable, my life so far, Maria Sharapova writes “I think Serena hated me because that skinny girl had beaten her, against all odds, at Wimbledon.”. The former Russian tennis player refers to her final at the Cathedral in 2004, when she was 17 years old and surprisingly, she beat Serena Williams 6-1, 6-4 and deprived her of her third consecutive trophy in the All England Club.
That book was written during the 15-month low of the Russian tennis player due to doping suspension and later, Serena would declare that when she read it she was surprised that so much was said about her and that she felt that there were unfounded thingsLike the fact that Sharapova saw her cry after the 2004 Grand Slam loss.
That same year, Maria Sharapova beat her again in a Masters, but the reality is that It was Serena who completely dominated this rivalry, because of 22 games, the Russian only beat her on those two occasions. In the round of 16 at Roland Garros in 2018, Serena had to withdraw and for their last US Open first-round matchup of 2019, the American once again won 6-1, 6-1. In February 2020, Sharapova announced her retirement at the age of 32.
The rivalry will always be remembered, but it has certainly been left behind. At the 2021 MET Gala, the Williams sisters posed for photos alongside Maria Sharapova between laughs and even Venus clarified that although they treated each other harshly on the court, there will always be respect and they remembered good stories.
JR
