Serena Williams And Maria Sharapova Advance To Marquee Showdown At French Open

Serena Williams took down 11-seed Julia Görges in straight sets in their Round of 32 match at the French Open Saturday to advance to a marquee fourth-round showdown against Maria Sharapova, scheduled for Monday.

Sharapova cruised easily Saturday morning against Karolína Plíšková, 6-2, 6-1, to advance to her 12th fourth-round appearance at Roland Garros in 14 tries. Afterward she described potentially facing Serena as something she would look forward to, which strains credibility given her 2-19 career record in the matchup:

Sharapova hasn’t beaten Serena head-to-head since 2004, but this is Serena’s first major tournament in more than a year, and since she gave birth in September. I suppose if Sharapova has any hope at all, it rests there.