Of Serena, Maria and hard work

The epic tennis match went back-and-forth on green clay, full of power and tactics, fist-pumping and almost every shot Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova could muster.

And then, after going to deuce a ridiculously gripping 12 times in a pair of long back-to-back games, Sharapova won the sixth game of the first set to make for a 3-3 tie that lasted almost an hour. Pacing itself, the large crowd at Stadium Court collectively sighed and applied more sunscreen.

If world class stardom is the measuring stick, Williams' 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 win over Sharapova on Friday in the Family Circle Cup quarterfinals was no less than the greatest sporting event our town has ever hosted.

There have been NFL games at The Citadel, NBA and NHL games at the North Charleston Coliseum and major league baseball games at College Park. But those were all exhibitions. Here were two women in their professional prime, 11 Grand Slam titles between them.

Brady vs. Manning, Maddux dueling Clemens, Magic and Bird.

Almost Ali-Frazier.

But Serena and Maria are much better dressed, and so colorful.

"We're both pretty expressive on the court," Sharapova said after it was over. "I think that's what makes it so entertaining is we never let down. We keep fighting and we keep trying and, I mean, that's why our matches are so entertaining at times."

'Beauty of tennis'

The rich extra layer is that Sharapova and Williams are playing as well as anyone on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, winners of the last two tournaments (Serena two weeks ago at Miami, Maria last week at Amelia Island).

They played between courtside signs that say "Charleston, South Carolina, Where history lives."

They played for a full two hours and 30 minutes. Serena's flexing was the third-set difference.

"It was definitely emotion," she said. "I think I was more focused. I was ready to get off the court at that point and I was just ready to play. I felt like I wasn't even playing before. I was just out there."

The pro-Serena crowd loved it, and Sharapova was more than willing to "take the positives" away from a tough loss the afternoon before her 21st birthday.

"Considering the success she's had on clay, she was obviously the favorite," Sharapova said. "And if I did take that

(first) set point or if I did take a couple of those important points, I would have won the second and the match would been over in two. So, you know, that's the way it goes and that's the beauty of tennis."

Like Tiger

It was more than pretty, so much more than glitz.

As different as they are, Williams and Sharapova share a blue-collar work ethic attached to their tennis since childhood.

Richard Williams and Oracene Price moved their daughters Venus and Serena from Compton, Calif., to South Florida so the girls could refine their games. Serena studied at Rick Macci's tennis academy in Delray Beach. He recalls a young girl who used to play tag with a closed fist.

"Obviously, talent is the key at the top level of any sport," Macci said. "But the X factor — and you see it in Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan and you see it in Serena Williams — is the ability to compete. She is the ultimate competitor."

Sharapova was asked this week about the sacrifice her family made in moving her as a young kid from Siberia to Bradenton, Fla., so she could attend Nick Bollettieri's famed tennis school.

"My family didn't just wake up one day and everything was brought on a golden plate for us," she said. "We actually made it happen."

Thank you, Sharapova family.

Thank you, Williams family.

Same time next year?

Reach Gene Sapakoff at gsapakoff@postandcourier.com.