Serena Williams: 'I have cried in the locker room many times'

As all fans know, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams have always had a very turbulent relationship. Within his book 'Unstoppable. My life so far', the Siberian champion dedicates a long excerpt to her first triumph in a Slam, the historic one that happened in Wimbledon in 2004 when she was just 17 years old (the second youngest ever to succeed in the Open Age after Martina Hingis ). Her opponent in the final was Serena.

In her book, Masha talked about Williams ‘bawling’ in the locker room after her defeat. “To me, the real answer was there, in this locker room, where I was changing and she was bawling. I think Serena hated me for being the skinny kid who beat her, against all odds, at Wimbledon,” Sharapova wrote.

After coming across these lines, the 23-time Grand Slam champion was disappointed. “I think the book was 100% hearsay, at least all the stuff I read and the quotes that I read, which was a little bit disappointing. You know, I have cried in the locker room many times after a loss, and that’s what I have seen a lot of people do,” said Serena. “I think it’s normal. And I think if anything, it shows the passion and the desire and, you know, the will that you have to want to go out there and do the best.”

Williams leads the series 20–2. The pair first met in the fourth round of the 2004 Miami Open, where Williams defeated Sharapova 6–4, 6–3. Their rivalry truly began at the 2004 Wimbledon final, where Williams was the two-time defending champion; Sharapova upset her 6–1, 6–4.

Williams next lost to Sharapova at the 2004 WTA finals 6–4, 2–6, 4–6. Since then, however, Williams has dominated the rivalry, winning all of their clashes, with only three of their matches going to three sets. Sharapova retired in February 2020, with their final match being in the first round of the 2019 US Open; Williams defeated Sharapova 6–1, 6–1 in one hour exactly.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2Y5kfSx