During the peak of their careers, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova often found themselves at opposite ends of the tennis court. They had one of the most intriguing rivalries in women’s tennis. Although the American legend dominated the encounters between them, Sharapova gave Serena a run for her money in one of their most iconic clashes, the final of the Wimbledon Championships in 2004.

Of the 22 matches played between them, Serena managed to win 20 of them. A few years back, Serena’s then rumored boyfriend and Canadian rapper, Drake, revealed how Serena inspired him by giving an example of her rivalry with Sharapova.

Serena Williams-Maria Sharapova rivalry inspired Drake

During the Rap Radar podcast in December 2020, Drake revealed the advice he received from the 23-time Grand Slam champion to handle his feud with Meek Mill.

Drake narrated, “We had been talking a lot about her and [Maria] Sharapova going back and forth over the years. And she had made this comment to me, and she was like, ‘Well, look, if you’re going to go again, you know … you gotta finish it.’ She’s a top competitor.”

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Further, he went on to add, “So, she’s like ‘You gotta finish. I’m talking like, done, over. And it’s going to be something that everyone he’s with has to hear. You can’t do some sh*t that’s for the moment and then goes away.’ She kinda put this battery in my back, funny enough.”

Serena to take on Emma Raducanu today

Later today, the American legend will take on Emma Raducanu in the first round of the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati. Their match was earlier scheduled to take place on Monday. However, the tournament organizers rescheduled it to Tuesday, much to the dislikeof the fans who had bought the tickets for the match.

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It is Serena’s penultimate tournament before she ends her professional tennis career. Meanwhile, Raducanu will aim to find her lost mojo before she enters the US Open as the defending champion.

Later this month, Raducanu will be defending 2000 ranking points at the US Open on account of being the defending champion. She had defeated Canada’s Leylah Fernandez to clinch her maiden Grand Slam title last year.

It’ll be a crucial tournament for Raducanu, as she will receive a big blow to her WTA ranking if she fails to deliver in the last Grand Slam tournament of the season. Raducanu is currently in the 13th spot in the WTA rankings chart.