In addition to the clash between Muguruza and Radwanska, the Wimbledon semi-finals on Thursday offer another exciting match: the 20th meeting between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova. Both mega stars booked their tickets to the semi-finals on Centre Court: Sharapova was the first to advance, defeating American CoCo Vandeweghe in three sets. The current world number four won the match 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-2. Sharapova's expert ability on break points made the difference as she won six out of the eleven break points she faced against Vandeweghe, who struggled with only three out of fourteen against Sharapova's uncertain serves. Vandeweghe, standing at 1.85 meters, had ten double faults compared to Sharapova's eight.
Meanwhile, on the same Centre Court, Serena Williams secured her 17th victory out of 20 meetings against Belarusian Azarenka. Williams won the match 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 after two hours and four minutes, serving 17 aces (compared to Azarenka's 7) and hitting a total of 46 winners, while Azarenka had 20. With Azarenka trailing 0-30 in the final game, Serena hit three aces, including one at a speed of 190 km/h. "There were ups and downs, but in the end, I was really enjoying it. I know I have been beating Sharapova for ten years, but I also know that she has been playing very well lately and she has nothing to lose now," said Serena, who is currently chasing her 21st Grand Slam title at Wimbledon this year.
Therefore, the Muguruza-Radwanska match will be accompanied by a galactic battle between Serena and Sharapova. It poses a major challenge for Sharapova, who aims to reach the Wimbledon final. For the 'Jedi' Maria Yurievna, Serena Jameka Williams appears as an ominous Darth Vader: Serena has defeated Sharapova in their last 16 meetings, all of which have taken place since 2004, including their most recent encounter in this year's Australian Open final. Williams holds an overall advantage of 17-2 against Sharapova. If Sharapova harbors any hope, she can always say that winning streaks are made to be broken, especially the longer they are. Well, we shall see.