When Maria Sharapova beat Serena Williams in the 2004 Wimbledon final, few could have predicted the path their rivalry would take over the next fifteen years.

In this episode, we discuss why Sharapova’s run aged 17 wasn’t completely out of the blue and the way in which Serena was slightly under prepared, and Mary Carillo explains what impressed her most about Sharapova’s performance on that day and why she felt Serena was surprised by Sharapova’s level.

Then, we look more closely at the development of the Serena-Sharapova “unrivalry”, including an analysis of the language Sharapova used to frame herself against Serena in her autobiography.

Finally, Sharapova’s coach of seven years, Michael Joyce, gives an insight into the Maria he knows, the pressure she was under after winning Wimbledon aged 17, and why he thinks Serena came to dominate their matches.

The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, and features Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments. It is crowdfunded by listeners each December. 

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We will be doing daily shows throughout the original Wimbledon dates, looking back on some of the tournament’s best matches and most important stories. Extended highlights of Maria Sharapova vs. Serena Williams from 2004 are available on YouTube, where you can also watch a full replay of Venus Williams vs. Lindsay Davenport from 2005, which we will be focusing on tomorrow.

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