Any match involving Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova is headline news. On the current tour, they are the crème de la crème of Women’s tennis.

It has been 11 years since Sharapova won her first and only Wimbledon title in 2004, defeating Williams 6-1 6-4. Apart from her quarter-final match against Coco Vandeweghe, Sharapova has sailed through this year’s tournament, whereas Williams has survived two scares – the first against Heather Watson in the third round and then against Victoria Azarenka in the quarter-finals. Going into the match, Williams had defeated Sharapova 17 out of 19 times.

Unfortunately for Sharapova, Lady Luck failed her yet again as she delivered a lacklustre performance. Her serve really let her down, only being able to win 69% of her first serve points and a disappointing 29% of her second serve points.

Williams’ intentions were clear from the start. She was not there to waste time and despite hitting 15 unforced errors, she blasted 13 aces and 29 winners past Sharapova in her 6-2 6-4 win.

Williams is sure to be relieved by today’s breather as she now prepares for the final against Garbine Muguruza on Saturday. Should she win, she will not only secure her 21st Grand Slam title, she will also complete another “Serena Slam”, having already won the US Open in 2014 and the Australian and French Opens in 2015.