Serena has that 'it' factor

DANIEL ISLAND -- For two hours, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova did the expected.

They sent backhand winners screaming down the line, smashed shots from overhead and let their strong wills -- not odds or points -- dictate the first two sets of Friday's highly touted quarterfinal at the Family Circle Cup.

Then, in that 30-minute third set, things went from epic to almost effortless for Williams.

Suddenly, Williams had turned on that switch, that passion we've grown used to seeing during her rise to stardom.

The yells accompanied her 110 mile-per-hour serves. The passionate fist pumps followed her zooming winners. And frankly, Sharapova, who at 21 years young is no slouch with three Grand Slams under her belt, looked almost helpless.

It's a gift you see in only the greatest of competitors. Michael Jordan had it. So did Larry Bird and Jim Brown.

Just when their opponents thought they caught them on an off day or at their weakest moment, these special athletes woke up when it mattered most.

That's really the only way to explain how Serena dispatched of Sharapova so quickly in that decisive set.

Serena had shown sparks throughout with 11 aces and several strong forehands, but the switch was still off.

On top of that, Sharapova had just come off an impressive second set, placing strong backhands near the feet of Williams, who had trouble pulling her returns up and over the net.

After Serena's failed attempt to return a Sharapova lob tied the match at one set apiece, the crowd's groans said game over for Serena.

But the match had just started for the 26-year-old.

"Definitely in the third set I just became focused, and I just knew what I wanted to do," Williams said almost nonchalantly.

She kept Sharapova off-balance with strong serves and smashed irretrievable winners.

Now, this isn't to say Serena is the greatest female tennis player ever. She's got some work to do before she catches up to the likes of Chris Evert or Martina Navratilova.

But I am saying that this killer instinct is what's stopped Serena from fading away like her sister Venus.

Remember earlier this decade, when Venus seemingly couldn't be stopped, winning five Grand Slams from 2000-2002?

Remember when little sister Serena came up short time after time against her big sister, who won five of their first six battles?

Since then, Serena's won six of their last nine matchups, culminating with last month's win at the Bangalore Open after going almost three years without facing one another.

Ironically, even after Friday's tough match, Serena still fears one player on the Tour.

"Hands down, Venus Williams," she said with a smile. "I really don't like playing her."

Sure, she doesn't.

What's more is that Serena was introduced to her own new kid on the block in 2004.

Then, an innocent teenager from Russia tore through Wimbledon before dismantling Williams in straight sets in the final, birthing the star that we know today as "Sharapova" and dethroning Serena as the world's best player.

So when the two took to the court for the seventh time Friday, I have no doubt that that match was still fresh in Serena's mind.

She was thinking about it as she politely served up practice shots to her rival before the match. It swirled through her memory every time a spectator cheered Sharapova and not her.

And it probably flashed through her head while she sat on that cozy, courtside couch before the deciding third set.

"I just told myself to get into it," she said. "I felt like in the third set I was like, 'Serena, play.' And so I played."

And just like that, it was game, set, match, Serena.