In their much anticipated clash at the US Open, Serena Williams beat Maria Sharapova comfortably to reach the second round of the tournament. Serena won 6-1, 6-1 against her old nemesis as she sets her sights on a record tying 24th Grand Slam title. Serena and Sharapova have not played each other since the 2016 Australian Open. They were to clash in the fourth round of last year's French Open, but the 23-time champion had to withdraw due to injury.
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Five-time grand slam winner Sharapova, who is now 87th in the rankings mainly due to injuries, was still expected to give Serena a run for her money.
This is also a comeback of sorts for Serena. The last year's US Open final against Japan's Naomi Osaka was riddled with controversies. Serena was handed a code violation and docked a game after she smashed her racket and called Carlos Ramos, who was umpiring the match, a “thief” and a “liar”.
Ramos had claimed that Serena's coach Patrick Mouratoglou “coached” her during the game from the player's box. She denied the allegation, but was slapped with a game penalty at which point, she lost her cool and called Ramos a thief for “stealing” a point from her.
Serena also told Ramos that he would “never, ever, ever be on another of mine” as long as he lived. Serena lost the final 6-2, 6-4 to Osaka.
If she wins the tournament, she will tie the all-time record set by Maragret Court.