Maria/Serena controversy: bad blood before Wimbledon!

http://newsone.com/2610432/maria-sharapova-serena-williams/

UPDATE: 9:30 A.M. ET– 06/23/13:  After chattering away in  ‘Rolling Stone’ on everything from victim-blaming to rival Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams has suddenly decided not to do any more talking.

In her pre-Wimbledon press conference, Williams said that she would rather keep her private life  private:

“I definitely like to keep my personal life personal,” said the number 1 seed. “I think it would be inappropriate for me to comment on it.”

Serena Williams speaks to the media during a press conference at Wimbledon. Sunday, June 23, 2013

She did say that she saw Sharapova at a players’ party Thursday night and apologized to her. Though she thought that her apology was accepted, Sharapova’s remarks came two days later.

Williams blamed the reporter, Stephen Rodrick, for making assumptions and including portions of her private conversation with her sister, Venus Williams, in the published interview.

“I’ve been in this business a little over200 years…I should definitely, definitely know better. I should know better to always have my guard up.”

Instead of crip-walking on Sharapova’s head though, Williams is taking it to the tennis court, hoping aloud that she meets her rival across the nets during the finals:

“I think everyone would like to see that.”

Sharapova beat Williams in the 2004 Wimbledon final, reports USA Today. But since then, Williams has won their past 13 matches in a row.

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Maria Sharapova has fired back against comments made by Serena Williams by accusing her of being a homewrecker who shouldn’t throw stones, reports the New York Post.

As previously reported by NewsOne, Williams stated in an interview with the ‘Rolling Stone’ that a tennis player (presumed by the interview’s author,  Stephen Rodrick, to be Sharapova), was, to paraphrase, getting on her last nerve:

“There are people who live, breathe and dress tennis. I mean, seriously, give it a rest.” Serena exits the car and the conversation moves on to a top-five player who is now in love. “She begins every interview with ‘I’m so happy. I’m so lucky’ – it’s so boring,” says Serena in a loud voice. “She’s still not going to be invited to the cool parties. And, hey, if she wants to be with the guy with a black heart, go for it.” (An educated guess is she’s talking about Sharapova, who is now dating Grigor Dimitrov, one of Serena’s rumored exes.)

Sharapova did not take the remarks lying down.

Read more from the Post below:

“At the end of the day, we have a tremendous amount of respect for what we do on the court. I just think she should be talking about her accomplishments, her achievements, rather than everything else that’s just getting attention and controversy,” Sharapova said.

“If she wants to talk about something personal, maybe she should talk about her relationship and her boyfriend that was married and is getting a divorce and has kids,” Sharapova continued. “Talk about other things, but not draw attention to other things. She has so much in her life, many positives, and I think that’s what it should be about.”

Williams has been linked to coach Patrick Mouratoglou, but neither has confirmed their relationship extends beyond the court. When Mouratoglou was asked about the topic at the French Open this month, he smiled and replied: “Sorry. I don’t understand the question.”

Ironically, Mouratoglou was at Williams’ house during her Rolling Stone interview.

Sharapova also commented on Williams’ controversial statements regarding the Steubenville  rape case: “I was definitely sad to hear what she had to say about the whole case.”

As previously reported by NewsOne, Williams joined a growing list of famous apologists by speculating on the morals of the 16-year-old rape Steubenville rape victim, the effectiveness of the teen’s parents and questioning whether the punishment the two rapists received is “fair.”

She later apologized for what she “supposedly” said, but the criticism remained relentless.

The Wimbledon Tournament begins Monday. Williams, the defending champion, is seeded number 1 and Sharapova is seeded number three.

Williams has yet to respond, but she is scheduled to hold a press conference at Wimbledon on Sunday and we’re not sure Sharapova wanted to open this box.

Stay tuned.

Watch Sharapova’s remarks below: http://youtu.be/a5IsREI7tP4