Maria loses this time

Serena Williams beat Maria Sharapova this time, but it looks like there could be many more matches between these two top tennis players in the world.

"She's one of the best competitors out there," Sharapova said Thursday after her 2-6, 7-5, 8-6 loss to Williams in the Australian Open semifinals. "She's been in those situations when she was down in the third set, and out of nowhere she knows how to turn it around. That comes from experience; that comes from her fighting spirit."

The 17-year-old Sharapova, an upset winner over Williams last year in the Wimbledon final and season-ending WTA championship, served for the match at 5-4 in the second set and again at 5-4 in the third. "I played from my heart. I didn't take my chances. That's what this game is all about," Sharapova said. "The match could have gone either way. She took her chances when she had to and that's the difference. That's why she won."

Williams looked fitter in the deciding set as Sharapova, who had a tough, three-set win over compatriot and U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals, struggled again in the heat. "There's nothing negative - I'm 17 years old and I've made it to the semifinals of the Australian Open," Sharapova said. "This is not a sprint, it's a marathon. Of course I'm sad, it's a tough one to lose. But I've got a long way ahead of me."