Tennis participation grows to more than 25 million players in the U.S. even as pickleball's popularity surges

With Serena Williams' win over Julia Goerges on Friday, she set up a "blockbuster" fourth round against Maria Sharapova. Why the quotations? Though some call it a rivalry, it's hard to see it as competitive with Williams holding a 19-2 record against the Russian, including 18 straight wins.

Only one can can leave the court the winner. Who will it be? #RG18 Stream live tomorrow on TC and TC Plus→ tnns.ch/app Subscribe to TC Plus→ tnns.ch/subscribe
Posted by Tennis Channel on Sunday, June 3, 2018

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Back in 2004, a teenage Sharapova stunned Williams in the Wimbledon final for her first major, and then beat her again in the championship match of the year-end finals. Since then though, the 31-year-old has won just three sets against the 23-time Grand Slam champion. The last time they faced off was in the 2016 Australian Open quarterfinals, before Sharapova left the tour to serve a 15-month doping suspension.

Here are some memorable events that were going on the last time Sharapova beat Serena—three years before the first iPhone was released:

A new social network website called Facebook was launched.

During the Super Bowl halftime show, Justin Timberlake revealed Janet Jackson's breast in a wardrobe malfunction.

In Athens, a 19-year-old Michael Phelps won his first of 28 Olympic medals, a gold in the 400-meter individual medley.

Martha Stewart was convicted and sentenced to five months in prison.

Mean Girls, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Napoleon Dynamite were all in theaters.

Friends aired its final episode, as did Sex and the City.

The Boston Red Sox won the World Series for the first time since 1918.

President George W. Bush won his second term over Democratic challenger John Kerry.

The first same-sex marriage in the U.S. took place in Massachusetts.

The EU expanded to include Poland, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Malta and Cyprus.

Sharapova and Williams will face off on Monday.

The last time Sharapova beat Serena Williams...

—Tennis Channel Plus features up to 10 courts of live action from Roland Garros beginning Sunday, May 27 at 5:00am ET.

—Catch up and watch all your favorite stars anytime on-demand with Tennis Channel Plus.

—When you buy Tennis Channel Plus, your 12-month subscription gets you access to every ATP Masters 1000 tournament played outside the U.S., and every round through the finals of WTA Indian Wells, Miami and Cincinnati.

(The availability of matches or events on TC Plus is subject to change.)

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