Patrick
07-03-2004, 11:03 PM
Youth served! Sharapova stuns Williams to win Wimbledon at 17
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) -- Waiting to walk out on Centre Court with Serena Williams for the Wimbledon final, Maria Sharapova was fidgety. She bit her nails, tapped her foot, pressed a finger against her neck to feel her pulse.
After the match, Sharapova was giddy and giggly, fumbling with a cell phone while trying to call Mom, just like any 17-year-old at a suburban mall on Saturday afternoon.
Ah, but Maria Sharapova is not the average teen. Not by a longshot. And this was no ordinary afternoon.
Taking the next big step in a remarkably quick journey from Siberia to Florida to tennis' grandest lawn, Sharapova was as confident and cagy as a veteran in her first Grand Slam final. She completely outclassed two-time defending champion Williams 6-1, 6-4 Saturday, becoming the third-youngest winner in Wimbledon's 127 years.
``I'm absolutely speechless. I never, never in my life expected this to happen so fast,'' Sharapova said. ``It's always been my dream to come here and to win. But it was never in my mind that I would do it this year.''
It was the most lopsided Wimbledon women's final in a dozen years, and there were so many other reasons the result was stunning: Sharapova's inexperience (just six previous majors), her out-of-nowhere status (at No. 13, she's the tournament's lowest-seeded female champion), and her opponent.
Williams was 6-1 in Slam finals and last lost this soundly in March 2000.
http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news;_ylc=X3oDMTBpbmdmam0wBF9TAzI1NjY0ODI1BHNlYwN0bQ--?slug=ap-wimbledon&prov=ap&type=lgns
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) -- Waiting to walk out on Centre Court with Serena Williams for the Wimbledon final, Maria Sharapova was fidgety. She bit her nails, tapped her foot, pressed a finger against her neck to feel her pulse.
After the match, Sharapova was giddy and giggly, fumbling with a cell phone while trying to call Mom, just like any 17-year-old at a suburban mall on Saturday afternoon.
Ah, but Maria Sharapova is not the average teen. Not by a longshot. And this was no ordinary afternoon.
Taking the next big step in a remarkably quick journey from Siberia to Florida to tennis' grandest lawn, Sharapova was as confident and cagy as a veteran in her first Grand Slam final. She completely outclassed two-time defending champion Williams 6-1, 6-4 Saturday, becoming the third-youngest winner in Wimbledon's 127 years.
``I'm absolutely speechless. I never, never in my life expected this to happen so fast,'' Sharapova said. ``It's always been my dream to come here and to win. But it was never in my mind that I would do it this year.''
It was the most lopsided Wimbledon women's final in a dozen years, and there were so many other reasons the result was stunning: Sharapova's inexperience (just six previous majors), her out-of-nowhere status (at No. 13, she's the tournament's lowest-seeded female champion), and her opponent.
Williams was 6-1 in Slam finals and last lost this soundly in March 2000.
http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news;_ylc=X3oDMTBpbmdmam0wBF9TAzI1NjY0ODI1BHNlYwN0bQ--?slug=ap-wimbledon&prov=ap&type=lgns