The US Open draw has been merciless to former world number one Maria Sharapova of Russia, selecting US tennis star Serena Williams as her first-round opponent. Williams once vowed to never drop a match against the Russian player.
Despite the upcoming encounter being already billed as the first-round thriller, there is very little intrigue in it, as the 23-time Grand Slam winner has an undisputed advantage over the injury-plagued Russian.
Out of their 19 on-court meetings Sharapova won just three, with the latest victory being recorded at last year’s French Open, when Williams didn’t appear on the court, having pulled out of the fourth round match due to an injury.
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The five-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova has scored just two solid wins against her well-decorated US opponent: the 2004 Wimbledon final and the 2004 WTA Championship final.
In her autobiography “Unstoppable: My Life So Far,” Sharapova recalls the episode when she saw Williams crying in the dressing room after she beat her, and swearing to never lose again to “this little bitch.”
“I think Serena hated me for being the skinny kid who beat her, against all odds, at Wimbledon,” Sharapova wrote.
“I heard Serena told a friend –who then told me– ‘I will never lose to that little b**** again’”
And the 37-year-old American tennis star has stuck to her promise since then confidently beating Sharapova at all tournaments at which they’ve faced on another.
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The upcoming US open match will more likely be another walk in the park for Williams, who has already played three Grand Slam finals since returning from maternity leave.
Sharapova, on the contrary, doesn’t have enough game practice, having been limited to just six matches since January because of a shoulder injury.
However, despite all pessimistic predictions Sharapova has a slight chance of entering the second round, as Williams has had back problems in recent weeks which forced her to withdraw from the Miami Open final and from the Cincinnati Open.
