Maria retired and no one cares

The courts become quieter, which is great 网球场上安静了好多 … 谢谢退阵

2020.3.03: Immediately after Maria Sharapova announced her retirement last week, Serena Williams was trending on Twitter.

Perhaps unfairly, hoards of tennis fans chose to remember Sharapova as the woman Serena beat 20 times rather than for any of her achievements.

Unlike in other sports, when a retirement announcement sees a flood of tweets from former teammates and competitors, Sharapova’s official goodbye didn’t lead to an outpouring of memories on social media, at least not from many of her peers.

And especially not from Serena.

Sharapova’s 16-year battle with Serena

Sharapova and Serena had a very frosty relationship during the 16 years in which they both played on the WTA tour, with Sharapova infamously saying they’d ‘never be friends’ in 2017.

When Sharapova won her first grand slam by beating Serena at Wimbledon in 2004, the sport thought it had its new princess and a budding rivalry.

But that rivalry never materialised, at least not on court.

Serena and Sharapova met 22 times, and Serena won 20 of those matches – a 90.9 winning percentage for Serena.

Yet Sharapova has a thinly veiled dislike of Serena, and the feeling is mutual.

In her 2016 memoir, Sharapova wrote fairly extensively about her opponent, admitting that at the 2002 Wimbledon champions ball her “body just would not let me” stand to salute that year’s winner, even as the rest of the room welcomed Serena, who had just won the singles title over Venus and the doubles title with Venus, with an ovation.

Somewhat bizarrely, Serena shows up on the second page of the prologue in Sharapova’s memoir.

“Serena Williams has marked the heights and limits of my career,” Sharapova wrote.

“Our stories are intertwined. I approach every match against her with trepidation and respect … I’ve beaten all the players who have beaten Serena, but it’s been nearly impossible for me to beat Serena herself.”

Why Sharapova thinks Serena hates her

The first time they played one another, in Miami in 2004, Sharapova described Serena thusly: “Her physical appearance is much stronger and bigger than you realise watching TV. She has thick arms and thick legs and is so intimidating and strong. And tall, really tall.”

In reality, Sharapova is about five inches taller than Serena, but clearly she had a picture to paint. And it’s not a nice one.

According to Sharapova, in the locker room after her win against Serena in the 2004 final, Serena collapsed into “guttural, heaving sobs.”

“It went on and on. I got out as quickly as I could, but she knew I was there,” she wrote.

“People often wonder why I have had so much trouble beating Serena; she’s owned me in the past ten years. My record against her is 2-19.

Maria Sharapova, pictured here after beating Serena Williams to win Wimbledon in 2004.View photos
Maria Sharapova shocked the world by beating Serena Williams to win Wimbledon in 2004. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
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“In analysing this, people talk about Serena’s strength, her serve and confidence, how her particular game matches up to my particular game, and, sure there is truth to all of that; but, to me, the real answer was there, in this locker room, where I was changing and she was bawling.

“I think Serena hated me for being the skinny kid who beat her, against all odds, at Wimbledon.

“But mostly I think she hated me for hearing her cry. She’s never forgiven me for it.

“Not long after the tournament, I heard that Serena told a friend, who then told me, ‘I will never lose to that little b*tch again.”

莎娃退休 没人出声
一般球员正式告别后, 会导致社交媒体上的记忆泛滥,尤其同行之间. 但是莎娃非但没有,小威反而上了热搜. 二妞同事16年: 交手22次, 莎娃输了20次.
她的第二个赢来自2004温网. 据她自己写 “比赛结束后不久, 小威告诉一个朋友, 那个朋友告诉我: “小威发誓从此不会再输过那个小婊子” I will never lose to that little b*tch again. 哈哈哈 小威信守了自己的诺言

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