WHAT HAPPENED: To most tennis fans, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova are fierce, longtime rivals. So when the US Open draws were announced, and Williams and Sharapova set to face off in a marquee matchup in the first round–under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium on opening night, naturally–the hype was real.
After all, two of the highest-profile players in the history of the game have played 23 times, dating back to 2004.
But true rivalry? Serena has now beaten the Russian, often quite soundly, 19 straight times; she holds a career 20-2 advantage over Sharapova. Sharapova hasn’t won one of their encounters since 2004.
That’s not much of a rivalry, unless we’re talking only about their profiles, their stratospheric fame and fortune they’ve earned over nearly two decades. A rivalry implies true competition and a more equal division of the spoils.
On court, Sharapova and Williams, both multiple Grand Slam winners and millionaires many times over, still bring the same levels of intensity to the court. They still glare across the net at each other, pump their fists, and yell "C'mon!" to themselves. But at this point in their respective careers, that’s where the similarities end.
Williams has emphatically dominated this relationship.
That dominance continued on Monday night, with Serena routing Sharapova, 6-1, 6-1, in just 58 minutes. The match may have been an unusual pairing for the first round, but the result was a familiar one for Williams.
Williams was in ominous form throughout, playing calm, confident and exceedingly efficient tennis. She won twice as many points as Sharapova, including five of six break-point opportunities.
"It's an incredibly tough draw," Serena said of meeting Sharapova in the first round. "She is such a good player, when you play her you have to be super focused."
That Serena was, no question.
WHAT IT MEANS: Serena Williams is seeking her seventh US Open crown. If she were to win here, she would tie Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slams.
Though the two had played once before, their history together truly began with Sharapova's defeat of Williams in the 2004 Wimbledon final. The Russian was just 17 and not yet a household name when she shocked Serena, 6-1, 6-4, to capture her first major. Sharapova won their next encounter, too, at the year-end WTA finals.
But for the Russian it's been all downhill since then. Sharapova has won but a single set in the past 10 years against Williams and has not beaten her "rival" since that WTA championship in 2004.
Serena, 37, and two decades removed from her first US Open title in 1999, is still trying to secure her record-tying 24th Grand Slam trophy after returning to the tour after the birth of her first child in 2017. Williams lost last year’s infamous final in Flushing Meadows to then-newcomer Naomi Osaka.
Sharapova, 32, is down to No. 87 in the rankings and has had her own troublesome return to the tour after a drug-related suspension. Beleaguered by injury, Sharapova – the 2006 US Open champion – has struggled. She missed nearly six months of competition this year with a shoulder injury, and was forced to retire in the first round at Wimbledon, with a left forearm injury.
Williams also arrived in Flushing with questions about her health and continued quest to tie and surpass the all-time Grand Slam singles record. The American withdrew from Cincinnati just two weeks ago and retired in the previous hard-court event, in Toronto, with a back injury that left her in tears. Prior to the injury, Serena had defeated No. 2 Osaka in the quarterfinals, however, and she reached the final at Wimbledon, where she lost to Simona Halep.
MATCH POINT: Serena Williams may be just the 8th seed this year in Flushing Meadows, but she made a statement on Monday night: there is a long road ahead, but if Serena continues to play like she did against Sharapova, she will be hard-pressed to find a rival.
