Comedian Trevor Noah attempted to settle the "beef" between tennis player Maria Sharapova and her US rival Serena Williams, sitting down with the Russian star to clear the air on her "criticism" of Serena's physique, which drew sharp backlash from fans.
In her recently-released memoir, Unstoppable: My Life So Far, the tennis player described Serena as "much stronger and bigger" than what people may see on TV. This, despite Maria being taller and bigger than Serena in reality.
Maria appeared on Trevor's The Daily Show and defended her statements, explaining it was an observation she had when she first burst on to the scene.
"I think you have to see it from a point of view of a 17-year-old teenager that had just walked onto the tennis scene. So I was still not at my height. I was far from being at my strength. I was inexperienced and Serena Williams is intimidating. The confidence with which she walks out (onto) the court is intimidating," she said.
Maria's book mentioned Serena several times, commenting on the star's talent, personality and physique.
The comments drew backlash from fans who accused Maria of taking shots at Serena, who has defeated Maria over 18 times on the tennis court.
Watch the rest of the interview below:
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