What to Expect in the Latest Installment of Serena Williams vs. Sloane Stephens

Serena Williams and Sloane Stephens have one of the most intriguing rivalries on the WTA Tour. Young, but intense, this rivalry turned on one match: Stephens' upset win over Williams in the quarterfinals of the 2013 Australian Open.

The fallout from Stephens' lone win against Williams lingers in the intensity and electricity that surrounds their matches. They meet once again, this time in the second round of the 2015 Mutua Madrid Open. 

It's their second encounter this season. That this blockbuster matchup is happening in an early round is a reflection of the opposite paths the women have traveled since their Australian encounter two years ago. 

Ranked No. 3 at the time, Williams went on to dominate the tour and has been No. 1 for more than 114 consecutive weeks. 

Meanwhile, Stephens, 19 at the time, climbed as high as No. 11 before she began a slow descent out of the top 20. Now ranked No. 38, she's just begun to claw her way back. 

Once billed as the mentor versus the apprentice, this matchup is more about one of the greatest of all time trying to fend off an upstart.

It's also a contest between two of the most gifted athletes on the tour.

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Whenever these two meet, it's a hard-hitting, tense affair. They chase down balls that looked like winners when they left the opponent's racket. Both are superb movers on clay.

Expect to see scintillating shots and defensive gets from clear off the court. Capable of rocketing winners from both wings, these ladies know how to use racket head speed to end points. 

Williams leads the series, 3-1. After the Aussie Open win, Stephens generated buzz by implying that Williams was bitter and disingenuous champion. Stephens told ESPN magazine that when she was 12, Williams and sister Venus ignored her and refused to sign her poster.  

Despite the negative remarks and purported "bad blood" between the two, Williams has never uttered a negative comment about Stephens in public. Williams prefers making statements on the court.

They last met at Indian Wells in March. Stephens took the first set in a tiebreaker. However, Williams steadied herself and went on to win the second and third sets by 6-2 margins.

Williams is far more accurate and consistent than Stephens. As much as Stephens has improved her game this year, she still slips into bouts of doubt and indecision. If Stephens does that against Williams in this upcoming match, expect the champion to make her pay. 

The two enter the tournament after dispatching fellow Americans in the first round. Stephens beat Bethanie Mattek-Sands 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. Williams defeated Madison Brengle 6-0, 6-1 in just under an hour. 

Williams is looking to get back to her dominating ways on clay. She was two points from falling to Sara Errani in a Fed Cup match against Italy. Unhappy with her performance in Fed Cup, Williams vowed to do better. 

After her win over Brengle, Williams spoke with reporters about how that poor performance motivated her to improve her clay-court preparation, per WTATennis.com:  

"

That was a big wake-up call. I definitely feel I know what to do more in terms of clay, and being ready mentally for clay, being ready for longer points, longer matches. My preparation was not as great as I wanted it to be, so I'm just trying to play through it, and just do the best I can.

"

Williams' attitude about her game is one of the major differences between how these women approach work. Williams, undefeated this season, complains of weaknesses in her game. Stephens, on the other hand, even after a poor performance, sometimes seems content with making a good show. 

A few months after her upset win over Williams, Stephens was in the beginning of what would become a serious slump. Flippant about her struggles, she told ESPN's Greg Garber that "I'm [ranked No.] 16 in the world. I can lose in the first round the next two months and I probably would still be top 30. I'm not really too concerned about winning or losing or any of that, I don't think."

Well, now she is ranked the lowest she's been in three years. 

A win over Williams would certainly boost Stephens' confidence. Maybe that's why Stephens usually raises her game against Williams. 

Expect Williams to come out pumped too.

One thing is certain, this match will not be boring. The tension, history and firepower all but guarantee an entertaining affair.