London (AFP) - Thirty-five years after Vitas Gerulaitis famously exclaimed that nobody beats him 17 times in a row, Maria Sharapova now knows how the flamboyant American felt.
Gerulaitis was celebrating ending his eight-year, 16-match losing streak to Jimmy Connors when he finally turned the tables on his nemesis in Madison Square Garden in 1980, a feat which allowed him to issue his famous tongue-in-cheek public cry of defiance.
Unfortunately for Sharapova, there appears no end in sight to her record of failure against Williams.
Thursday's 6-2, 6-4 loss to the world number one in the Wimbledon semi-finals was her 17th in succession and 18th overall at the hands of the American.
The Russian's only two wins came way back in 2004, one in the Wimbledon final and the other in the end of year championships.
Since then, Serena has won all the on-court skirmishes and most of the off-court disputes.
Asit ghosh
Senior Lecturer, TE
