How an Australian Open comeback started Serena Williams' 19-match win streak against Maria Sharapova | Iconic Down Under moments

The rivalry between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova started in 2004, and it was the Russian who came out on top at the start. A then-17-year-old Sharapova took a 2-1 lead in their head-to-head after beating the American in two finals that year to win Wimbledon and the WTA Tour Championships. However, a match in Melbourne would be the start of shaping up an immensely one-sided rivalry.

The two locked horns in the semifinals of the 2005 Australian Open. Serena Williams, who was the seventh seed, entered the match after wins over Camille Pin, Dally Randriantefy, Sania Mirza, 11th seed Nadia Petrova, and second seed Amelie Mauresmo.

Maria Sharapova, on the other hand, beat Sesil Karatantcheva, Lindsay Lee-Waters, Li Na, 15th seed Siliva Farina-Elia, and fifth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, to reach her maiden semifinal at the Melbourne Major.

The Russian started off strongly, winning the opening set 6-2. The then-teenager was a break up in the second set and was just a service hold away from her second Grand Slam final and a third straight Grand Slam final when she served for the match at 5-4. However, Serena Williams broke back and won the next two games to force the match into a decider.

The Melbourne heat and the long rallies already made the match a testing encounter for both players at this point but Sharapova kept her composure for a large part of the third set to put herself in a position to serve for the match at 5-4.

The then-17-year-old had three match points but squandered them, as Serena Williams broke back. The American then saved a few more break points and eventually went on to script a 2-6, 7-5, 8-6 win to reach the Australian Open final. Here, she beat compatriot and top seed Lindsay Davenport 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 to win her first Grand Slam singles title since Wimbledon 2003.

Following the match, Serena Williams said that it lived up to everyone's expectations.

"It definitely lived up to everyone's expectations and it was a lot of fun. I am really happy to get through."

Maria Sharapova said that despite giving her all, not capitalizing on her chances was why she lost.

"I gave it all I had. l played from my heart but I didn't take my chances and that's what this game is about. If you don't take your chances you lose. I thought it was a great match. I gave it all I had and so did she. The match could have gone either way. I think she got better as the match went on. She started to pick up her level."

This match was the beginning of Serena Williams' dominance in her rivalry against Maria Sharapova as she went on to register 19 successive wins over the Russian, starting from their Australian Open semifinal in 2005.

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Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova squared off in two Australian Open finals

Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova after their 2015 Australian Open final (Image Source: Getty)

Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova locked horns in a few Grand Slam finals during their rivalry, and the Australian Open is the only Major where they faced one another in two title clashes.

The first of these came in 2007 when the Russian was the top seed and the American was ranked 81st in the world. However, Williams made easy work of Sharapova, beating her 6-1, 6-2 to win her third Australian Open title. She thus became the first unseeded player to win the Melbourne Major since Chris O'Neil in 1978.

The second Australian Open final between the two came eight years later, in 2015, when they were the top two-ranked players in the world. While this match was less one-sided compared to 2007, Williams registered a 6-3, 7-6(5) win to clinch her sixth title at the Melbourne Major.

This was the first of three successive Grand Slams Serena Williams won in 2015 as she came close to completing the Calendar Slam. However, the American was unable to do so, as she lost to Roberta Vinci in the US Open semifinals.

The last match between Williams and Sharapova came in the first round of the 2019 US Open, with the former winning 6-1, 6-1. She went on to reach the final of the tournament before losing to Bianca Andreescu.