2 Women Enter, 1 Woman Leaves

Tonight's version of Thunderdome takes place where the original did: in Australia.

More precisely, on center court at the Australian Open, first leg of the Grand Slam.

In this corner: Serena Williams, rated #7 in the world.

She won the Australian Open in 2003, but sat out last year while recovering from knee surgery.

She looked to be in top form yesterday, blowing #2 seed Amelie Mauresmo of France off the court in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2.

In the other corner, 17-year-old Maria Sharapova, last year's Wimbledon winner, currently ranked #4 in the world.

Sharapova's already played five matches in brutal heat in Australia to get to today's highly-anticipated semifinal; she's been out on the court for 8 hours, 7 minutes, more than any other player still standing.

Yesterday, she scored a tremendous comeback victory over Svetlana Kuznetsova (4-6, 6-2, 6-2) in 90°+ temperatures.

Williams, in contrast, has spent 5:33 in reaching the semifinal.

Tonight's match starts in three hours, at 9:30 p.m. Eastern; it'll be on ESPN2.

I'll be watching, so the usual rule applies, to wit:

Don't bother knockin', 'cause I ain't unlockin'