There are many rivalries in modern women’s tennis, but few are more notable than the matchup between 17-time major champion Serena Williams and four-time major champion Maria Sharapova. They will reignite their rivalry in Miami in a semifinal at the Sony Open as Williams continues the hunt for her second title of the year and Sharapova seeks her first final of 2014. After suffering a drop in the rankings since the start of the season, the Russian will look to consolidate her return from the injuries that saw her miss most of last season’s second half.

Europe is the next stop for most players after the Sony Open concludes, and there are a number of fitness and form concerns dogging Sharapova heading into the clay season. Beyond these, though, lie the questions that she must ask of herself about Williams’ dominance over her. Sharapova has an immediate opportunity to address them on Thursday as she faces her nemesis for the 18th time.

Sharapova will head into the semifinal against Williams as the heavy underdog on the wrong side of a 15-2 head-to-head record. If that record wasn’t daunting enough, the fact that the Russian last defeated the American in Los Angeles 10 years ago will add to the daunting challenge of facing the world No. 1. None of this situation is new to Sharapova, but each loss to Williams makes her futility against this rival progressively tougher to overcome.

It can be hard to pinpoint a reason why such a one-sided record exists between two players, especially when it is two outstanding champions who have completed a career Grand Slam apiece. There are few (if any) more lopsided current head-to-head records between two top-20 women. In fact, there are few more lopsided rivalries between two top-20 players in the history of modern women’s tennis. Buttressing the American’s dominance, though, is the mental frailty that has appeared to undermine Sharapova often in her matches against Williams.

There are several notable examples of this trend in recent years. Among them was the collapse that Sharapova suffered after winning the first set of the 2013 Sony Open final. This was the first set that she’d taken off Williams since 2008, but she couldn’t match Serena’s mental resilience or her energy as the final progressed. This resulted in Williams taking the second set 6-3 before dropping a bagel on Sharapova in the final set.

In another example, Sharapova started off extremely well against the American three months later at the final of last year’s French Open. Serving and returning well en route to an early break, Sharapova held two game points on her serve to consolidate the lead. After just a small waver in the Russian's concentration, Williams roared back to break Sharapova in that game and then broke her again. More twists and turns would unfold that day, but the foundation for the American’s eventual win had been laid in those first four games. Had Sharapova consolidated her early lead, the first set and perhaps the match could have unfolded very differently.

Although history is against the Russian heading into the semifinal, her form has been solid so far in Miami. Before defeating a top-10 opponent in Petra Kvitova, Sharapova also showed her competitive fire in surviving a three-hour epic against Lucie Safarova. Meanwhile, a few questions linger over Williams’ fitness. The world No. 1 struggled in some of her early matches at the Sony Open before raising her level in a quarterfinal victory over Angelique Kerber.

Despite the one-sided record and related statistics, Sharapova has reason to be optimistic. As rival Victoria Azarenka has proved, she should stay hopeful that she can climb a seemingly unclimbable mountain. Heading into 2013, Azarenka bore a 1-10 record against Williams and hadn’t defeated the American in four years. But she toppled Williams in Doha last year and scored another win over her nemesis six months later in Cincinnati.

Many suspect that Williams will nonchalantly notch a 15th straight win over Sharapova, and she may well do so. Still, tennis fans who hold no rooting interest in either player might hope that the Russian can score a monumental upset. Reinvigorating this predictable matchup would add a welcome dash of intrigue to the women’s game.