Sharapova, Williams Meet At Wimbledon

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Published on July 9 2015 6:42 am
Last Updated on July 10 2015 6:25 am

Now it's Maria Sharapova's turn at Wimbledon to try to put an end to Serena Williams' bid for the third leg of a calendar-year Grand Slam - and a fourth consecutive major title.

The No. 1-seeded Williams takes a 26-match Grand Slam winning streak, which began at last year's U.S. Open, into her semifinal Thursday at the All England Club against No. 4 Sharapova.

And while Sharapova has spent time atop the rankings, too, and owns five major titles of her own, this has not been much of a rivalry on the court.

Off the court? Well, that's another story. Most infamously, in the run-up to Wimbledon two years ago, they exchanged barbs, via the media, connected to their respective love lives.

But with rackets in their hands, this has been a one-way street: Williams has won 17 of their 19 career meetings, including the past 16 in a row. Both of Sharapova's victories in the series came all the way back in 2004; one of those was in the Wimbledon final.

''I haven't had great success against her. I would love to change that around,'' Sharapova said. ''That's how I look at it.''