Maria Sharapova
Russia's Maria Sharapova celebrates after winning her fourth round match against Switzerland's Belinda Bencic at the Australian Open tennis tournament at Melbourne Park, Australia, January 24, 2016. Reuters/Jason O'Brien Action Images via Reuters

Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova may not be facing each other for this year’s Australian Open title, but a classic finals rematch between the two would still get fans excited in the quarterfinals round of the first Grand Slam event of the year.

Williams and Sharapova meet again to relive their on-court rivalry, with the former gunning for a historical 22nd Grand Slam title and the latter ending a 17-match losing streak against WTA’s world No. 1.

Sharapova has only won twice in 20 meetings against Williams, who beat the Russian in last year’s Australian Open finals. But Belinda Bencic, whom Sharapova defeated in straight sets 7-5 7-5 to earn a quarterfinal berth, believes the “Siberian Siren” could have one advantage over Williams.

"Probably she's serving the best now in this moment,'' Bencic said, reports ESPN. “Once she plays Serena, it will be ace, ace, ace, everything. It will be an interesting match.''

Sharapova, who hit 21 aces against the Swiss teenager for a straight sets victory, said she is looking forward to playing Williams, who cruised past Margarita Gasparyan 6-2 6-1. However, despite being in good shape, the 28-year-old Russian finds herself on the brink of elimination against a surging Williams, who has not dropped a single set in all of her matches at the 2016 Australian Open.

“It’s not like I think about what I can do worse,” Sharapova said when asked what she would do to overcome Williams in their head-to-head battle, reports the New York Times. “There is no reason I shouldn’t be looking to improve and to getting my game in a better position than any other previous round. It’s only going to be tougher, especially against Serena.”

While both players are coming off injuries that pulled them out of competitions prior to the Australian Open, there appears to be no signs of concern from Sharapova and Williams as they head into their much-anticipated clash. But it would prove too much for Sharapova to play a very confident Williams as early as the quarterfinals.

"She had a really good match earlier but I've got nothing to lose and will just do my best,” Williams said, reports the BBC. "I just feel like I'm really confident in my game right now, not against her or against any other opponent."

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