PARIS — With her finest performance yet of her comeback season, Serena Williams secured a spot in the fourth round of the French Open at age 36 with a no-nonsense 6-3, 6-4 victory over 11th-seeded Julia Görges.
Williams will next face not some member of the new wave but Maria Sharapova, the only player whose star power and earning power have consistently rivaled her own in women’s tennis during this era.
But it has been no contest on the court, with Williams winning 19 of their 21 matches, the last seven of those without dropping a set. Sharapova has not defeated her since 2004.
But she has been gathering momentum of her own here and routed sixth-seeded Karolina Pliskova, 6-2, 6-1, earlier Saturday.
“I think any time you play against Serena, you know what you’re up against,” said Sharapova, seeded 28th here. “You know the challenge that is upon you. You know, despite the record that I have against her, I always look forward to coming out on the court and competing against the best player.”
Williams is not back to being that player yet. She is not even seeded here as she continues to work her way back from the birth of her daughter, Olympia, in September.
She did not play any clay-court tournaments before arriving in Roland Garros, preferring to focus on improving her fitness and sharpening her game outside of competition at her coach Patrick Mouratoglou’s academy near Nice, France.
For the moment, that looks like a wise decision, and she has already eliminated two seeded players in Paris: No. 17 Ashleigh Barty, in a tough three-set match in the second round, and now Görges, a veteran German player with one of the best serves in women’s tennis.
She hit 11 aces to Williams’ three Saturday on the Suzanne Lenglen Court, but Görges could never get the lead on the scoreboard, struggling consistently to deal with Williams’ baseline pace and precision.
The last time Williams faced Sharapova was in the quarterfinals of the 2016 Australian Open, which was the last tournament Sharapova played before her 15-month suspension for violating anti-doping rules by using the newly banned substance meldonium.
“Well, it’s been awhile,” she said of her latest chance to face Williams. “And I think a lot has happened in our lives for the both of us in very different ways.”