During the first round of the 2019 U.S. Open, two former world No. 1 tennis players, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, face off at the grand slam event at the National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York. It will be their 22nd match against each other. In Sharapova’s 2017 autobiography, Unstoppable: My Life So Far, she wrote: “Serena and I should be friends: we love the same thing, we have the same passion… But we are not friends — not at all.”
Since arriving in New York City, Sharapova has been filming her visits to retail stores where her candy line Sugarpova is sold, and flaunting her killer abs in a Nike crop top and pleated skirt at the city park during a photo shoot for W magazine.
Sharapova most recently competed at the 2019 Western & Southern Open in Ohio; she and Venus Williams earned wild card draws. Madison Keys won the tournament.
Sharapova is trying to stage a comeback and regain elite status after being forced to take time off for a drug suspension. Her low ranking accounts for her meeting Williams so early in the tournament. But Sharapova looks hungry.
U.S. Open Tennis: First Round live coverage begins at 7 pm on ESPN2. Roger Federer plays against Sumit Nagal, too.
