New York, Sunday: Serena Williams faces Maria Sharapova in a blockbuster first-round match Monday at the US Open, the feature showdown on the first day of the year’s final Grand Slam tennis event.
Eighth-ranked Williams, who lost to Naomi Osaka in last year’s US Open final and to Simona Halep in last month’s Wimbledon final, is seeking her 24th career Grand Slam singles title to match Margaret Court’s all-time record.
The 37-year-old American owns a 19-2 record against Russia’s 87th-ranked Sharapova and has beaten her 18 consecutive times dating to 2005.
That lopsided rivalry, however, has not prevented the matchup from being the talk of the tournament since Thursday’s draw announcement. “Of course I’m going to watch it,” Osaka said. “I think everyone in New York is going to watch it.”
Williams owns a 3-1 record over Sharapova in Grand Slam matchups, having lost their first such meeting in 2004 at Wimbledon, but this will mark the first time they have met in a US Open.
“Someone texted me about it,” US 10th seed Madison Keys recalled. “I think I was shopping, had no idea the draw was actually happening. So it was like, ‘Oh my God. Look at this first round.’”
Williams last won a Grand Slam at the 2017 Australian Open, while pregnant.
Five-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova, 32, failed a drug test at the 2016 Australian Open and served a one-year ban. AFP
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