[harpoon]

People keep matching Maria Sharapova with cuddly actresses she could eat for breakfast!
Forget all those stereotypes about pretty blonde girls …. they are weak, submissive, can't fight for toffee,  yada yada yada.....
Maria is a world class athlete! One of the best female athletes in the world today! She is 6 foot 2 inches tall. Fast, strong and very, very competitive!
Only another athletic amazon, as big, as fit and as strong as Maria, and with an equally dominant personality, would stand a chance of beating her in a catfight.
I can think of one woman who fits that description, and the best thing about the fight I am imagining now is that it could actually happen irl!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/22/maria-sharapova-serena-williams-feud_n_3483275.html

Here is how it could go down.
Both women are staying in hotels close to Wimbledon stadium during the tournament.
Maria has not beaten Serena since 2004. She has lost to her 13 times in a row since then. Only Serena has stood between Maria and the coveted title of World No 1 ranked female tennis player that the ambitious blonde has been dreaming of since she was little girl back home in Russia.
Distracted by the thought of yet another public humiliation at the hands of her nemesis, Maria played badly and crashed out of the tournament in the second round.
Since then, she has spent every evening alone in her luxury hotel suite, crying, sulking and striding up and down like a caged tigress.
She has Serena's mobile phone number. Until quite recently, the two women were on friendly terms.
Now Maria sends Serena a text message: "If you want to talk about personal things, and have the guts to do it to my face, come round and see me. I am only 2 blocks away from you now, and I will be here, on my own, every night till the tournament ends" Followed by the number of her hotel suite.

Serena has the physical advantage. She is just as fit and fast as Maria but more powerful, that's why she has beaten her so many times on the tennis court.
But Maria would be more motivated to win, 9 years of seething resentment reaching boiling point!
She would go for Serena like a she-devil from hell, and would probably rather die than lose to her yet again!
And Serena might be complacent, so used to dominating Maria with her crushing serve that she thinks all she has to do is show up, face her down, and the pretty blonde will crumble.
She could be taken completely by surprise. so shocked at the sheer ferocity of the 6 foot 2 inch hellcat's assault that she finds herself down on the floor with Maria astride her raining down punches before she even realises that this is a CATFIGHT, not a tennis match!
Anybody want to pick it up from there?

[Jebediah Morningside]

I could honestly see this one go either way.  Both women are strong, aggressive and have plenty of stamina.  I think it might well come down to which woman had a better strategy and/or managed to execute her plan better.  I'd say a plausible story could be told with either outcome, and no matter which way it went it would probably be the toughest battle either woman has been in.  I'm going to have to think on it a little before I make a call on this.

-JM

[AkikoJ]

what is it with the myth of black women being better catfighters?  In my experience....unless they're the 200 pound gorillas......they aren't very good.

[Jebediah Morningside]

After thinking this one over some more, I think the deciding factor might well just be will to win.  Based on their meetings on the court, I'd give Serena the edge there, and so she very narrowly gets my vote in this one.  Still, I won't be shocked no matter which way it goes.

-JM

[Sierra]

what is it with the myth of black women being better catfighters?  In my experience....unless they're the 200 pound gorillas......they aren't very good.

Good point.  The myth got started because in modern America, thuggish ghetto girls attack people without civilizing restraint.  People confuse mean with tough. 

[harpoon]

American stereotypes mean nothing to me. I grew up in Glasgow, half a mile from The Gorbals. In those days, it was one of the most violent and dangerous slums on earth. The swamp donkey lassies from “buckfast valley,” and the razor boys they hung aboot wi, would be just as notorious in a modern day American city as they were in dear auld Glesca toon, back then!

After thinking this one over some more, I think the deciding factor might well just be will to win.  Based on their meetings on the court, I'd give Serena the edge there, and so she very narrowly gets my vote in this one.  Still, I won't be shocked no matter which way it goes.

-JM

It's not her will to win that makes Serena a better tennis player than Maria, it's the speed and power of her serves!
She hits the ball at nearly 130mph, that's faster and harder than many male pros. Maria can reach Serena's serves, but she doesn't have enough strength in her arm and wrist to properly control a ball coming at her with that kind of velocity. None of the female players can, which is why Serena is no1 at the moment.
As you say, the result of this catfight could depend on who had the right game plan. One sledgehammer blow to the head from Serena would lay Maria out cold!
But if she got past Serena's punches and took her down, then used her height and those incredible long, supple legs of hers to coil them around Serena's body like pythons and wrap her up tight, she could turn it into a war of attrition.
Tactics and will to win would then be crucial. It could all come down to wants it more. For the reasons I gave earlier, that could be Maria.
Not only has Serena been thwarting her ambitions on the tennis court for nine long years, she has now made personal comments about Maria's boyfriend in a public statement, and reminded everybody that she had him before Maria did.
Nothing pisses a woman off more than another woman attacking her man in public like that!
It could give Maria the extra motivation she needs to do in a catfight what she cannot to do in a tennis match ... overcome Serena's strength advantage and grind her into humiliating defeat!