Williams vs Sharapova 04/06/2018

Serena Williams vs Maria Sharapova Tennis Prediction

Serena Williams played the best match of her French Open fortnight so far to dismiss 11th seed Julia Goerges, 6-3 6-4, losing just five points behind her first serve (30/35). Williams committed only twelve unforced errors in the match, nearly half of Goerges’ 23.
The three-time French Open champion started the campaign with a 7-6 6-4 win over Kr. Pliskova. The Czech aced 15 times in that first round match, the most against Williams since such stats began to be recorded in 2008 (Goerges hit 11 aces).
In the second round, Williams had to come back from a set and break deficit to beat 17th seed Barty. Playing her first clay event since 2016, the American has a 47-8 record in slam fourth rounds, but it improves to 10-1 at Paris (l. Sanchez Vicario in 1998).
Maria Sharapova thrashed sixth seed Karolina Pliskova, 6-2 6-1, in 59 minutes to move into the last 16 of a tournament which she won in 2012 and 2014. Allowing the Czech to hit just five winners, Sharapova won 72% on her first serve and 58% on return points.
This was Sharapova’s third top 10 win since 2015, having defeated #2 Halep at 2017 US Open and #6 Ostapenko at 2018 Rome. She had an encouraging clay season before this fortnight, semifinal at Rome and quarterfinal at Madrid, losing to eventual runner-ups in both cases.
The Russian started her first French Open campaign since 2015 by surviving a scare against Richel Hogenkamp, trailing the decider by 0-3 before winning six consecutive games to claim the victory (had lost six consecutive games herself prior to the turnaround).
Williams famously leads the series against Sharapova by 19-2. It was at 2004 Tour Championships when the Russian last defeated the now 23-time slam champion. This is the earliest stage of a tournament these two are meeting since the 2010 Wimbledon clash (round of 16).

Tennis Prediction: Serena Williams
Odds: 1.70