The Tiger Woods mystique has not disappeared. It has simply changed addresses and now is residing in No. 1-ranking WTA player Serena Williams.
After her resounding victory over No. 2 Maria Sharapova in the finals of the Australian Open, reports surfaced that Sharapova had talked as if she were resigned to the fact that she may never defeat her nemesis - currently, Williams has a 16-match winning streak against the Russian.
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Now, Yahoo! Sport UK & Ireland is reporting that world's No. 3 Simona Halep, who is coming off a win at Indian Wells, doesn't fully believe she is the one who can take derail the Serena train.
"When Serena is number one, it's hard to think of being number one," Halep told reporters on Tuesday, according to Yahoo! Sport. "But still I have confidence that I can win more titles and reach a higher ranking.
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"She is very strong, she is a great champion, she has been up there for many years. She knows how to manage every situation," praised Halep. "I admire her a lot and learned many things from her.
"After the first match at Indian Wells I told my coach that I really wanted to play her in the semifinals but it didn't happen because of her injury. I really want to meet her many times, because I become stronger after I play her."
And it seems only Serena Williams' health can stop Serena Williams. She withdrew from Indian Wells because of a knee injury. She exhibited some baffling behavior during a doubles match at Wimbledon last year, indicating an ailment that may have forced her exit from the singles competition in the third round against Alize Cornet.
Since then, Serena has won the U.S. Open, the season-ending WTA Tour Finals and the Australian Open.
Williams, Sharapova and Halep all are scheduled to play at the upcoming Miami Open, tennis.com reports, even though Williams still may not be 100 percent recovered from her knee injury.
But the prevailing thought is that every tournament Williams enters is hers to lose - while the rest of the players wait for her to have an off-day.
"My dream is to win a grand slam; I don't know if it will happen in this life," Halep said, according to Yahoo! Sport. But I just want to work hard every day to reach a (major) title."
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