CLASH OF THE TITANS – SIX OF THE BEST:
How Serena Williams’ biggest matches with career-long rival Maria Sharapova have ended:
* LONDON, July 2004, Wimbledon final: Completing an improbable journey from the far reaches of Siberia to the pinnacle of the sport, 17-year-old Sharapova upstaged the two-time defending champion 6-1 6-4 to become the first Russian to win a Wimbledon singles title and the third-youngest women’s champion in history
* LOS ANGELES, November 2004, WTA Championships final: After sweeping past fellow Russians Svetlana Kuznetsova, Vera Zvonareva and Anastasia Myskina to make the final, Sharapova, still only 17, defeated Williams 4-6 6-2 6-4 to complete a dream season and raise the trophy on debut
* MELBOURNE, January 2005, Australian Open semi-finals: Intent on putting her teenage rival back in her box, Williams had to pull out all stops to deny Sharapova 2-6 7-5 8-6 before going on to land her second title at the season-opening slam
* MELBOURNE, January 2007, Australian Open final: After knee injuries restricted her to four tournaments in 2006, Williams arrived ranked a lowly 81st in the world but obliterated Sharapova 6-1 6-2 to become the first unseeded champion since Australian Chris O’Neill in 1978
* LONDON, August 2012: Olympics final: As if on a mission to exact merciless revenge for her Wimbledon final defeat eight years earlier, Williams delivered a devastating performance to crush Sharapova 6-0 6-1 in the Russian’s heaviest loss of her career
* PARIS, June 2013: A year after suffering a shock first-round loss to Virginie Razzano, Williams returned to continue her decade-long dominance over Sharapova with a 6-4 6-4 win to secure her first title at Roland Garros in 11 years