“SERENA and I should be friends,” says Maria Sharapova in her autobiography, before adding: “But we are not friends – not at all.”
And with Serena Williams upping the ante by giving her first response to the book, the two greatest active female players are unlikely to be any more chummy after Monday’s clash in the city of love.
This is not a great tennis rivalry, like Rafael Nadal versus Roger Federer or Chris Evert versus Martina Navratilova.
Sharapova has won just two of her 21 matches against Williams, with her last victory coming in 2004. Serena has won more Grand Slam titles (23) in the Open Era than anyone else, male or female, and the Russian is just one more obstacle, albeit one with five Major titles, that she has bulldozered.
What gives their shared story and Monday afternoon’s clash such an edge is what they stand for away from the court – and the personal war of words which broke out five years ago.
Tennis gossip insists men’s star Grigor Dimitrov was once Serena’s boyfriend, before taking up with Sharapova.
In a Rolling Stone feature in the build-up to Wimbledon 2013, Williams was quoted saying: “She’s still not going to be invited to the cool parties.
“And, hey, if she wants to be with the guy with a black heart, go for it.”
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Was she referring to Sharapova and Dimitrov? The Russian certainly thought so.
Sharapova said: “If she wants to talk about something personal, maybe she should talk about her relationship and her boyfriend that was married and is getting a divorce and has kids.”
This was taken as a reference to Williams’ alleged relationship with Patrick Mouratoglou, who was and still is her coach.
Things simmered on. Williams kept beating Sharapova (and everyone else), yet Sharapova remained the best-paid female athlete in the world.
But after their last meeting, the dynamic changed again.
In the Australian Open quarter final of 2016, Williams overcame a slow start to extend her winning streak over Sharapova to 18 matches.
No surprises, there. A few weeks later, though, at a carefully stage-managed press conference, Sharapova revealed that after the match she had tested positive for meldonium, a drug she said she had taken for years but not realised was now banned.
A 15-month suspension followed and in the meantime Williams had a break of her own – to become a mother.
Was it coincidence that Serena announced her pregnancy on Sharapova’s 30th birthday in April 2017?
Was the release of Sharapova’s book deliberately scheduled for September, the month Williams was due to give birth?
Williams has been frank about the life-threatening post-natal complications and mental challenges she suffered after the arrival of daughter Alexis Olympia.
During her so-far-successful return to Grand Slam action in Paris, wearing a super hero catsuit, she has presented herself as a champion for mums everywhere.
And she’s now claimed the moral high ground in relation to Sharapova’s book.
It’s rare for athletes to write about opponents until one or both has retired but “Unstoppable: My Story So Far” has more than 100 mentions of Serena.
Sharapova talks about being intimidated by the “thick arms and thick legs” of Williams. She claims that Williams’ reaction to losing to her in the 2004 Wimbledon final was to let out “guttural sobs” in the locker room.
This, says the Russian, more than anything inspired Serena to the incredible winning record over her: “I think Serena hated me for being the skinny kid who beat her, against all odds, at Wimbledon.”
Williams dismissed the book as “100 per cent hearsay”, said she had “no negative feelings” towards Sharapova, and criticised her Sharapova for breaking locker-room confidentiality.
But she also noted: “I didn’t expect to be reading a book about me, that wasn’t necessarily true.
“I didn’t know she looked up to me that much or was so involved in my career.”
The obvious implication being: Sharapova cares far more about me than I ever have about her.
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Williams twice mentioned Sharapova’s drugs ban in her press conference while emphasising how she had not criticised the Russian as others had.
And she was careful to say that Sharapova was probably the favourite for their match, explaining: “We are both on a comeback for two totally different reasons, and she’s been on her journey for over a year and I just started mine a couple months ago.”
Supermum Serena versus drug-shame Sharapova – no prizes for guessing who will have the most backing among neutrals.
The Russian has lost her Cold War with the American, but would enjoy winning this battle immensely.
And make no mistake: Williams loves solving a problem like Maria.
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