"I have to take this trophy from you for one year": When 17-year-old Maria Sharapova stunned Serena Williams in Wimbledon final

Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams faced each other on 22 occasions, and four out of these meetings came in Grand Slam finals.

The first Major title clash between the two came at Wimbledon in 2004. Williams was the top seed and two-time defending champion and entered the match as the favorite to win. However, a 17-year-old Sharapova stunned her 6-1, 6-4 to win her maiden Grand Slam singles title.

After the match, Sharapova apologized to Williams during the presentation ceremony for taking the Venus Rosewater Dish from her for a year. The Russian also claimed that the two would face each other on many more occasions.

"I have to take this trophy from you for one year. I'm sorry. I'm sure we're going to be here one more time and hopefully many more times in other Grand Slams and fight for the trophy. Thank you for giving me a tough match but I'm sorry I had to win today," Sharapova said.

Serena Williams said in her post-match press conference that she had no objection to Maria Sharapova's statements as she said them out of the excitement of winning.

"No. You get so excited, you'll just say stuff like that. Honestly, she's not sorry because she wants to win. Who doesn't? I wouldn't be sorry. I wasn't sorry when I took it away from Venus because I wanted to win," the American said.

The 2004 Wimbledon final wasn't the only time Maria Sharapova would beat Serena Williams that year as she beat her in the finals of the WTA Tour Championships that year.

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Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova locked horns at Wimbledon thrice

Serena Williams and Sharapova after their Wimbledon clash in 2015

Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova locked horns three times at Wimbledon, with the 2004 final being their first meeting.

The second time they faced each other at the grasscourt Major was six years later in 2010. Williams, who was the top seed, reached the fourth round of the tournament with straight-set wins over Michelle Larcher de Brito, Anna Chakvetadze, and Dominika Cibulkova.

Here, she faced Sharapova, who also did not drop a single set en route to the Round of 16. Williams won a tightly-contested first set 7-6(9), before taking the second set 6-4 to book her place in the quarterfinals.

The final clash between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon came in the semifinals of the 2015 tournament, and once again, the American came out on top, winning 6-2, 6-4.