Maria Sharapova is correct when she says she doesn't have a rivalry with Serena Williams.
It's more like a feud, unless you ask Serena, who wasn't all that convincing in downplaying the tension between the two.
The two most popular players in women's tennis spoke prior to their semifinals showdown at the Brisbane International on Friday night in Australia.
The two spent the latter half of 2013 sparring in the media. Williams made a reference to an unnamed top-five player that was presumed to be Sharapova in a Rolling Stone article in the spring that touched off the verbal sparring.
Serena, however, denied any ill will toward Sharapova on Thursday before their semifinal.
"I had a great talk with her (Sharapova)," Williams said, as reported by ABC News in Australia. "For me, I don't have anything against her or anything."
Serena mocked the unnamed player to Rolling Stone and said the player's boyfriend had a "black heart."
Sharapova currently is dating the 23rd-ranked men's tennis player, Grigor Dimitrov, who reportedly had a previous relationship with Williams.
Sharapova countered in a news conference prior to the start of Wimbledon, saying, "Maybe she should talk about her relationship, and her boyfriend that was married, and is getting a divorce and has kids," a reference to Williams' coach Patrick Mouratoglou.
When asked about that exchange, Williams' response indicated that her relationship with Sharapova still is frosty.
"I don't think that question is for me. I didn't go anywhere like that, so...," Williams said.
Sharapova was asked about her comments in a recent New York Times article, in which she said she respected Williams on the court but the relationship off the court was "different."
"That was one of the reasons why I wanted to do that interview. There were a lot of questions being asked and a lot of questions thrown in the air," Sharapova said on Thursday.
"I thought it was really important to clear the air, and I think I said everything I had to say about it."
Sharapova did produce one light-hearted moment during her portion of the news conference. When asked about her rivalry with Williams - Williams holds a 14-2 lead, has won 13 straight matches and hasn't lost to Sharapova since 2004 - Sharapova quipped, ""I think I got to win a few times in order to call it a rivalry."
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