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Teen star Sharapova reaches final
Seventeen-year-old Russian Maria Sharapova overhauled former champion Lindsay Davenport 2-6 7-6 6-1 to become the second-youngest Wimbledon finalist since tennis turned professional.
The Siberian-born teenager, who left her homeland for Florida as a seven-year-old, became the first Russian since Olga Morozova in 1974 to reach the final, where she will face either holder Serena Williams or France's seed Amelie Mauresmo. In the open era only Martina Hingis, who won the title in 1997 as a 16-year-old, has played in a final at a younger age than Sharapova's 17 years and two months. "This is unbelievable, I don't know how I'm in the final. This is crazy," said Sharapova. "This is my favourite grand slam and I'd never imagined I'd be in the final so early. "I don't know what to say, I'm going to cry right now."
Davenport won the last of her three grand slam titles in Melbourne four years ago and her lack of mobility was exploited by Sharapova in a contest lasting one hour 52 minutes. The 28-year-old, who said afterwards she had probably played her last singles match at Wimbledon, was full of praise for Sharapova.
"It's a tough loss to take but I felt I lost to a player who rose to the challenge today," Davenport said. "She totally deserved it, I had control of the match and she took it from me." A lengthy rain-disruption just after the start of the second set came to the rescue of Sharapova, who had earlier appeared overawed at playing in her first major semi-final. "I just kept believing in myself and somehow I tried to find a way to turn it around," Sharapova added. The American fifth seed, playing in her 15th grand slam semi-final, initially had more problems on Thursday with the weather than with her opponent. Sharapova and Davenport had played just two points before rain forced them to scurry back into the locker room for 30 minutes. Once they returned, the 1999 champion capitalised on Sharapova's nerves to break in the opening game by forcing the Russian to net a backhand. Davenport then made her experience count as the Russian struggled to control her spectacular shots. Battling instincts Sharapova could do little to stem the flow of unforced errors as Davenport reeled off five games in a row to seal the first set and move ahead 2-0 in the second. But after a second rain disruption, this time for 50 minutes, Sharapova came out firing to break Davenport and get back to 3-3. The Russian showed her mental toughness when she was forced to save break points in the ninth and 11th games, each time with an ace. The tiebreak became a battle of wills as the players exchanged mini-breaks before Sharapova grabbed a 4-3 advantage with a ferocious drive volley. Cheered on by the crowd, the 13th seed levelled the contest after 80 minutes with a scorching crosscourt winner. The teenager continued to captivate fans with her attacking play and boundless energy in the decider, forcing Davenport on to the back foot to edge into a 4-1 lead with yet another blistering forehand winner. As Davenport's game disintegrated into the grey clouds hovering over Centre Court, Sharapova booked her place in the final after the American sailed a forehand long. Sharapova stood behind the baseline soaking up the atmosphere with a look of disbelief on her face before blowing kisses to all corners of the stands. |
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