Occasionally, in sport, you come across two combatants whose supposed rivalry may have become a bit of a one-sided illusion but whose extraordinary fame and celebrity always woos you back into believing their every duel is monumental.
So never mind that Serena Williams has beaten up Maria Sharapova on court so painfully, so often and for so long that, even now, as she prepares for Thursday’s Wimbledon Ladies' Singles semi-final, it is possible to imagine the wonderfully combative Russian psyching herself up with a Vitas Gerulaitis-like growl: "Nobody beats Maria Sharapova 17 times in a row."
No, the point is that it is still Maria against Serena. It's Compton fire versus Siberian ice. It's the two most famous, charismatic female tennis players in the world - no, make that the two most celebrated sportswomen on earth - who just won't compromise their cool, stubborn enmity.
So let's savour once more a screaming collision of wills, talent and mighty egos on the same Centre Court where, 11 years ago, this tennis Cold War first began to take shape when a 17-year-old Russian phenomenon blitzed double champion Williams in the final and cooed in her ear at the presentation: "I have to take this trophy from you for one year. I'm sorry..."
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Who's sorry now? How she has paid for the temerity. Sharapova beat Williams once more, later in 2004, but has lost the last 16, in only three of which did she even manage to win a set.
"I love playing Maria. I think she brings out the best in me," smiles Williams. "I think I bring out the best in her. I thought we had a wonderful final in the Australian Open. It was very entertaining. She played really well." Yes, and still lost in straight sets.
As for that Venus Rosewater dish, Serena's name has been engraved on it five times while Sharapaova noted good-naturedly, following her quarter-final win over CoCo Vandeweghe: "I would love to check out the trophy again to make sure my name's still there."
The Russian is having fun, while treating Vandeweghe's accusations of a lack of sportsmanship and press enquiries about her volume control with regal disdain. In a way, she has as little to lose as she did as an equally long-odds outsider in 2004.
Williams' last two sets against her most stubborn foe, Victoria Azarenka, in the quarter-finals were so impressive that it was hard to recall the 33-year-old ever looking more destructive here. "I haven't seen her play like this, honestly," noted the awed Belarusian.
So who can stop her charge to a scarcely credible 21st Grand Slam triumph? If not the feisty sweet shop owner - incidentally, shouldn't Sugarpova really be Sluggerpova? - how about today's other semi-final combatants, Garbine Muguruza with the big game or Agnieszka Radwanska with the brain game.
At 21, Muguruza, the Venezuelan-born Spaniard who beams about having two countries supporting her, is a glimpse of tennis's future, a free-spirited, all-out aggressor on court with a 1,000-watt smile and a gregarious nature which all shout 'star quality'. At Roland Garros last year, Williams quickly discovered what it's like to be blown off court by her.
Muguruza is having the time of her life. Antonio Banderas turned up at Wimbledon last week to watch Rafael Nadal but ended up in the canteen being swooned over by a girl whose flashing ground strokes would have old Zorro's approval.
Yet Radwanska, who lost their two hard-court battles at the start of the year, looks back to her old arty, crafty best after some unconvincing early-season form which, oddly, occurred when Martina Navratilova was coaching her.
"Just bad timing," Aga shrugged, but the nine-time champion Navratilova will be the first to salute the Pole if she can reach another Wimbledon final, three years after her defeat by Williams, the history woman.
