Paris: Serena Williams turned up the heat ahead of her French Open clash with bitter rival Maria Sharapova, stating that claims about her in the Russian’s book were ‘hearsay’ and not ‘necessarily true’.
Sharapova, who Serena has beaten 18 times in a row, claimed in her recent memoir ‘Unstoppable’ that Serena ‘hated’ her for hearing her cry after the 2004 Wimbledon final.
“I think the book was 100 per cent hearsay, at least all the stuff and quotes that I read, which was a little bit disappointing,” Serena said after her 6-3, 6-4 third round win over Julia Goerges here late evening Saturday..
“I have cried in the locker room many times after a loss, and that’s what I have seen a lot of people do. I think it’s normal. “It’s a Wimbledon final, you know. So it’s just, like, I think it would be more shocking if I wasn’t in tears…
“The book was a lot about me. I was surprised about that, to be honest. You know, I was, like, ‘oh, okay. I didn’t expect to be reading a book about me, that wasn’t necessarily true’,” added Serena.
Serena’s only two losses to fellow former World No.1 Sharapova came 14 years ago – in the 2004 Wimbledon final and at the WTA Tour Championships – before even the birth of Twitter and YouTube. But both are on the road back towards the top of the sport after their recent absences.
The 36-year-old however, thinks the Russian should be the favourite Monday as she lacks playing time, while Sharapova produced her best tennis since returning to the court in dismantling former World No.1 Karolina Pliskova 6-2, 6-1.
“Quite frankly, she’s probably a favourite in this match, for sure,” Serena pointed out. “She’s been playing for over a year now. I just started. So I’m just really trying to get my bearings and trying to feel out where I am and see where I can go.”