Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova renew rivalry in French Open blockbuster

Serena Williams will face her old rival Maria Sharapova for the first time in nearly 2-1/2 years in today’s highly-anticipated French Open fourth-round match on Monday.

Sharapova’s quarter-final defeat by Williams at the 2016 Australian Open was the last competitive match the Russian played for 15 months after she received a doping ban while American Williams was on a maternity break for most of 2017.

Williams holds a 19-2 head to head advantage over twice French Open champion Sharapova, who showed signs of rediscovering her best form in a straight-sets victory over sixth-seeded Karolina Pliskova in the third round.