STANFORD, CALIF. — It was akin to Ali lauding Frazier. McEnroe endorsing Connors. Tony Stewart ushering Kurt Busch to the checkered flag.
Tracing a compelling rivalry that reaches all the way back to 2004, when a then 17-year-old Maria Sharapova outmuscled Serena Williams in the Wimbledon final, the relationship between the Russo-American tandem hasn't exactly been one of mutual respect. The compliments have hardly been aplenty. But here was Serena, giving props to the eye-popping black-and-gold Alexander McQueen-designed dress Maria wore on the red carpet at the ESPY Awards. (“And her shoes were dynamite! I was like, ‘Oh my God, I love those shoes!”)
Following her first-round win over Anastasia Rodionova at the Bank of the West Classic on Tuesday, Williams appeared to embrace her foe while looking ahead to a possible quarterfinal clash. Said Williams, “I really like playing Maria and I really admire her and never giving up and developing the confidence that she has. Always just walking around and having so much aplomb, it's good. I always admired that. It's really cool.”
“You both develop as people and players and we've been through great moments and tough ones, but at the end of the day, she has 13 Grand Slams and I have three,” added Sharapova.
What's with the lovefest? Shall we all hold hands and sing “Kumbaya?”
Two days later, after a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 win over Maria Kirilenko, a match that set up the much-anticipated Serena-Maria quarterfinal, Williams seemed to sing a different tune. Said the 29-year-old: “She's probably going to look at me as the ultimate enemy out there as I will do the same with her. If I say I just want to play well, it's a lie. Would I be happy about losing? When I'm playing I get a little psycho and on the edge. I'm sure we'll both go out and do the best each of us can. It's nothing personal. It's my job and I want to get paid.”
And get paid she will. On Friday night, in front of a sellout Taube Tennis Center crowd of 3,866 — the highest tournament attendance since the 2004 final between Venus Williams and Lindsay Davenport — Serena sped into the semis with a dominant 6-1, 6-3 win, improving to 7-2 lifetime against the Russian and proving that, despite her current ranking (a lowly No. 169), she deserves to be considered among the favorites heading toward Flushing Meadows.
Williams, who finished with 17 winners and won 75 percent of her first-serve points, moved as well as she has at any point in her comeback and nearly as well as she had been prior to the freak foot injury she suffered after Wimbledon in 2010. She broke her opponent four times in the opening set alone and converted five of seven break-point opportunities in all in the one-hour, nine-minute match.
“It definitely tells me I can compete in the top 10, I hope, top five,” Williams said. “I’m still climbing though. This is just one match. It’s not the U.S. Open, it’s not Wimbledon, it’s not a Grand Slam. But it is a great win for the hard-court season…It’s pretty awesome.”
Sharapova on the other hand, played tight from the moment the first ball was struck and never really found any rhythm.
“It certainly wasn’t my day today,” said Sharapova, who totaled seven double faults and 23 unforced errors. “I think I’ll have to win a few matches before it becomes a true rivalry.”
Sharapova said she wasn’t necessarily surprised at how well Williams was moving, despite the 13-time Slam champion’s one-year layoff.
“She’s gotten through injuries before,” she said. ”I’m sure she’s experienced enough to know that you have to come back when you’re fully ready, when you’re feeling good. Then you don’t repeat an injury or it comes back. She took her time. That’s experience.”
Serena’s win sets up a must-see semifinal against another power server, Wimbledon semifinalist and No. 26-ranked Sabine Lisicki of Germany, who overcame No. 5 seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-2.
NOTEBOOK
HARRISON INTO FARMERS SEMIS: Ryan Harrison advanced to his second consecutive ATP semifinal via a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Taipei's Yen-Hsun Lun at the Farmers Classic. The 19-year-old, who reached the semis at the Atlanta Championships last week, is the youngest player competing in the singles draw in L.A. The win marked the 12th time the American has come back from a set down to win the match this year.
MELO IN: New York Knick Carmelo Anthony will reportedly join Rafael Nadal, Kim Clijsters, Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick at the 16th Annual Arthur Ashe Kids' Day on Aug. 27 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis, just prior to the U.S. Open.
A-ROD OUT: Andy Roddick has pulled out of the Legg Mason Classic in Washington, D.C., citing an injured abdominal muscle suffered during a practice session.
DOPING BAN: Robert Kendrick, a Fresno native and former Northern California junior champion now ranked No. 105, has been banned from the tour for a year after testing positive for the banned stimulant methylhexaneamine at Roland Garros. Kendrick, 31, can't return until May 22, 2012. The ban might have been longer had the ITF not accepted the American's claim that he took the stimulant to ward off jetlag, not as a performance enhancer.
THE NUMBERS
25: Double faults for Anastasia Pavlychenkova against qualifier Valeria Solovieva in the first round at the Baku Cup. The Russian won in straight sets anyway 7-5, 6-4.
3: Women who have reached the fourth round or better at Grand Slams in 2011 — Victoria Azarenka, Wimbledon titlist Petra Kvitova and Maria Sharapova.
