Serena is on a different level, admits beaten Sharapova
Maria Sharapova admits it is 'back to the drawing board' after she lost to Serena Williams for the 18th time in a row as the American booked her place in the Australian Open semi-finals.
Sharapova has not beaten Williams since 2004 and has now lost 19 of their 21 match-ups overall as the American strolled to a 6-4, 6-1 win on Rod Laver Arena. The Russian had opportunities, most notably with two break points at the end of the first set, but Williams delivered at the decisive moment and it was one-way traffic thereafter.
Three out of Sharapova’s last five major tournaments have now been ended at the hands of the world No 1, who goes through in Melbourne to face Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska in the semi-finals.
“It’s obviously always frustrating,” Sharapova said. “I mean, it’s motivating. It’s tough to sit here 30 minutes after the match and talk about the match, but that’s part of my job. 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.”
Sharapova served a career-best 21 aces against Belinda Bencic in the previous round but failed to penetrate Williams, who broke twice in each set.
“I think if you’re serving maybe 180 [kph] against somebody else compared to Serena, that’s an ace,” Sharapova said.
“Against Serena, as we all know, the return is one of her great strengths.