THE Even though Serena Williams owns Maria Sharapova, theirs is still the best rivalry in tennis

It took all of 72 hours for Maria Sharapova to realize the new year would be no different than the previous 10.

On the third night of 2014, Sharapova lost to Serena Williams for the 14th straight time dating back to 2004. Williams won their semifinal matchup in Brisbane, 6-2, 7-6 (7), even while struggling mightily with her first serve. It was Serena’s 15th overall win against Sharapova, the most victories she has over one opponent. (Serena has defeated her sister Venus 14 times.)

It wasn’t always like this. In 2004, after a teenaged Sharapova stunned Serena in the Wimbledon final and backed it up again at the season-ending Tour Championships, the head-to-head was actually 2-1 in favor of the Russian. Since then, it’s been all Serena.
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They’ve met in Grand Slam semifinals, Olympic gold medal matches and on surfaces like clay, grass and hard. There have been tightly-fought fourth-round matches at Wimbledon and blowouts in major finals. Only twice in the 14-match losing streak has Sharapova won the first set. Heck, she’s only won three sets of the 31 they’ve played. Friday’s match was only the second time Sharapova pushed Serena to a tiebreaker during the streak. In the previous eight matches, Serena didn’t even need a seventh game to win any set.

It’s been complete and utter domination. And yet, despite the absence of any Sharapova win since the first administration of George W. Bush, this is still the best rivalry in women’s tennis. When Victoria Azarenka faces Serena in the Brisbane final, she’ll have the best chance to win of any player in the WTA. (She’s done it twice since last February — all other WTA players have just one win against her in that stretch.) Still, Sharapova provides the best drama. There’s so much to watch.
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It has everything: Knowing Sharapova knows she can’t beat Serena, even though she’s more than capable; watching her fend off two match points in the second-set tiebreak on Friday and thinking, if she can steal this set — maybe, just maybe she can steal the match; seeing the pre-match behavior and post-match handshake and wondering whether all of last summer’s beef carries over onto the court; noticing the adjustments Sharapova makes on Serena’s serve and feeling her frustration when she can’t capitalize on an off-night for her rival; and hearing the rising octaves of the on-court grunts, almost like they’re trying to top each other.

And, best of all, wondering with each passing win whether Maria Sharapova is getting closer to beating Serena Williams or whether her chances are slipping farther and farther away.