Maria Sharapova started well against Serena Williams at the Australian Open.
But in tennis, it’s all about who wins the last point and for the 18th straight time in their meetings, it was Williams who was the much happier at the handshake.
Williams moved into the semifinals with a 6-4 6-1 win over Sharapova on Australia Day and given she is similarly dominant against her next foe, Agnieszka Radwanska, there’s little to suggest her tournament will come to an end Thursday.
The world No. 1 was seen by the tournament doctor twice and appeared to be given a fruit bar — her coach Patrick Mouratoglou told reporters she was dizzy — but even an under-the-weather Williams can win grand slams.
Remember last year’s French Open? Williams triumphed despite being sick for most of the second week.
Indeed, the way Williams dispatched a surely crestfallen Sharapova, all signs point to the American landing in Saturday’s finale, and perhaps against the surging Victoria Azarenka.
Sharapova hadn’t beaten Williams since 2004 but taking a 2-0 lead on a sunny day with temperatures around 30 degrees Celsius must have given fans of the world’s richest female athlete hope.
Williams woke up, however, and sent Sharapova into a temporary tailspin with a crushing return in the fourth game, later breaking for 2-2.
From then on, despite a ragged Williams, Sharapova always faced an uphill battle.
The five-time grand slam winner fended off three consecutive break points at 3-4, prompting Sharapova to roar “come on” and her coach, Sven Groeneveld, to leap out of his chair in the players’ box on Rod Laver Arena.
The momentum swinging, Sharapova manufactured two break points in the ensuing game.
Williams likely has the best serve the women’s game has ever seen and it rescued her on both occasions. She struck an ace out wide and two points later a fine serve set up a routine forehand winner.
Sharapova, with their history, needed a bit of luck on her side but didn’t get it.
Down 5-4 and 0-30, she rallied to get to game point.
What happened next?
Williams’ backhand cross court clipped the net, fell over and landed on the line. Sharapova had no chance.
And on a fourth set point, the set was Williams’ in 55 minutes.
Out came the doctor between sets yet Williams didn’t stutter. She, conversely, shored up her errors and Sharapova offered little resistance.
Sharapova struck a career-high 21 aces Sunday against Belinda Bencic when rain forced their encounter to be played indoors, but Mouratoglou doubted she could it again. He was right.
Sharapova hit only three Tuesday to go along with seven double faults.
It’s far from an irregular occurrence when they play.
In their last nine matches dating back to 2013, only once has Sharapova notched more aces than double faults. Overall in those matches, the numbers read 16 aces and 51 double faults.
Sharapova said her lopsided record against Williams is, not surprisingly, a source of frustration. But she added it was “inspiring.”
“It’s obviously always frustrating,” she told reporters. “I mean, it’s motivating.
“It’s motivating because she’s at a different level. She makes you go back to the drawing board, not just for me, but for many other players. She makes you work. That’s inspiring.”
Radwanska, who sports an 0-8 record against Williams, will need to be inspired to overcome Williams.
The Pole beat Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro 6-1 6-3 in a battle of players who employ guile and spin rather than power. Suarez Navarro’s chances weren’t aided by a knee injury that’s hindered her during the tournament.
Radwanska, the fourth seed, won the 2015 year-end championships — with Williams absent. Upsetting Williams would make for a gargantuan upset.
Federer, Djokovic on collision course?
On the subject of upsets, Tomas Berdych and Kei Nishikori will attempt to knock out third-seed Roger Federer and top-seed Novak Djokovic, respectively.
Although Nishikori and Berdych, grand slam finalists, have lost nine matches in a row combined to Djokovic and Berdych, they’ve both won the most recent meetings at grand slams.
Djokovic is attempting to rebound from his whopping 100 unforced errors in a five-set win Sunday against French counterpuncher Gilles Simon.