A year ago Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova competed in the final of Roland Garros, but there will be no repeat of last year’s final in 2014.
Top seed Williams has been drawn in the same quarter-final stage pool as the seventh seeded Sharapova.
The Russian – the 2012 French Open champion – has been playing well on clay after struggling to find her form in the early part of the season.
Sharapova was the two-time defending champion in Stuttgart and she was able to defend the title for the second consecutive time beating Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic in the final.
Sharapova was also able to triumph in the Mutua Madrid Open, the second-biggest tournament on clay after the French Open. Despite losing to Ivanovic in Rome, Sharapova should regain her confidence and momentum for this year’s second grand slam. Without a doubt the Russian is a main contender for the women’s trophy.
Serena Williams won the clay-court Grand Slam tournament in 2002, beating her older sister Venus in the final, and then waited 11 years to reclaim her second French Open trophy last year.
Williams has dominated the head-to-head record against Sharapova in the past. Serena has a 16-2 overpowering lead and she is 4-0 against the Russian on clay. Their recent meeting on clay was the French Open final last year where Serena triumphed 6-4, 6-4. Williams lost to Virginie Razzano in the opening round of 2012 French Open. Since then she hasn’t lost to anyone on red clay.
Tennis fans will probably get to witness another exciting match between these two main contenders – unfortunately not in the final but in quarter finals.
Sharapova’s path to quarters is blocked by ninth seed Dominika Cibulkova, the woman who upset Sharapova at the Australian Open this year. Cibulkova also defeated the Russian in the 2009 French Open, where the Slovak only allowed Sharapova two games on the score board.
Serena might face her sister Venus in Round 3, which would be their earliest meeting at a Grand Slam tournament since their very first match-up in the second round of the 1998 Australian Open. Sabine Lisicki, the player who upset Serena last year at Wimbledon could await in Round of 16 as well.
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