USATODAY.com - Sharapova topples Williams to win Wimbledon crown
Looking to sell tickets quick?  Register now.
Sharapova topples Williams to win Wimbledon crown
By Stephen Wilson, The Associated Press
WIMBLEDON, England  Completing an improbable journey from the far reaches of Siberia to the pinnacle of the sport, 17-year-old Maria Sharapova beat two-time defending champion Serena Williams 6-1, 6-4 Saturday to win Wimbledon for her first Grand Slam title.
Maria Sharapova never wilted in the women's final against Serena Williams, winning in straight sets for her first Grand Slam title.
By Anja Niedringhaus, AP
She's the first Russian to win a Wimbledon singles title, the third-youngest women's champion in history and, at No. 13, the lowest seeded women's winner since Wimbledon began seeding players in 1927. "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. It was never in my mind I would do it this year."
After Williams hit a forehand into the net to end the 73-minute match, Sharapova dropped to her knees at the baseline and covered her face with her hands. She raised her arms and walked to the net. Williams walked around the net and the two players embraced.
Sharapova pumped her fists, whacked a ball into the stands and climbed into the guest box to hug her father, Yuri. She pulled out a cell phone and tried to call her mother but couldn't get through immediately.
"I turned it on and it keeps turning off — come on, technology," she said with a giggle.
Sharapova accepted the winner's trophy — the Venus Rosewater dish — from the Duke of Kent.
"I want to cut up this trophy and give it to everybody, this whole crowd," she said.
Turning to Williams, Sharapova said, "I have to take this trophy from you for one year. I'm sorry. ... I'm sure we're going to be here one more time and hopefully many more times in other Grand Slams and fight for the trophy."
"It wasn't my day," a gracious Williams told the Centre Court crowd. "Maria played a really good match. Congratulations on your first Grand Slam."
Sharapova, playing in her first Grand Slam final, put on a virtuoso performance against the six-time Grand Slam winner. She showed no signs of nerves and kept Williams on the defensive, hitting 17 winners and only 11 errors. It was the most lopsided women's final since Steffi Graf beat Monica Seles 6-1, 6-2 in 1992.
"I don't know how I won," Sharapova said. "I don't know what the tactics were. I was in my own little world — I don't know what that world was really."
And she did it after coming down with a bad sore throat Friday night.
"I was in tears because I didn't think I'd be ready to play a Wimbledon final and win," she said.
Sharapova is the youngest woman to capture Wimbledon since Martina Hingis, who was 16 when she won in 1997. The youngest champion was Lottie Dod, who was 15 when she won the 1887 title.
Sharapova halted Williams' bid to become only the third woman in 35 years to win three consecutive titles. She also ended the Williams family's four-year hold on the trophy. Venus Williams won in 2000 and 2001, while Serena beat her older sister in the final the next two years.
"I don't know what happened," Williams said. "I didn't play great and I didn't win."
Sharapova showed right from the outset that she wasn't intimidated by Williams. She moved her from side to side. She stepped in on short balls and knocked off winners. She mixed searing groundstrokes with topspin lobs. She pumped her fists.
"She's kind of like me," Williams said. "She doesn't back off, she keeps giving it her all."
From 1-1, Sharapova won five straight games to win the opening set in 30 minutes. Williams went up a break at 4-2 in the second, but Sharapova broke right back and won the last four games.
Sharapova was born in Siberia and moved at a young age to the Black Sea resort of Sochi. When she was 5, she was spotted by Martina Navratilova at a clinic in Moscow. She moved to Florida at 7 and joined Nick Bollettieri's tennis academy at 9.
The 6-foot blonde has a modeling contract, drawing comparisons to Anna Kournikova. But, unlike Kournikova, she can win tournaments. Sharapova had three tour titles coming into Wimbledon.
Robert Landsdorp, who has coached Sharapova in California, said he never expected her to win Wimbledon so soon.
"I don't remember when I saw somebody so young come in and play like that in their first final," he said.
Boris Becker, who won Wimbledon in 1985 at 17, said Sharapova's victory was the result of "nerves of steel or the innocence of youth."
"She played fearlessly," he said.
Sharapova collected a winner's check of $1,020,110, while Williams received $510,055.
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.