Teenager Maria Sharapova stunned champion Serena Williams 6-1, 6-4 in the Wimbledon final on Saturday to become the first Russian to win a singles title at the grasscourt Grand Slam.She also became only the second Russian woman to win a Grand Slam title, less than a month after Anastasia Myskina became the first at Roland Garros. “Serena actually I have to take this way from you for one year, I’m sorry,” said the gobsmacked 17-year-old, clutching the famous Venus Rosewater Dish on Centre Court. I know there are going to be so many more moments when we’re going to play. In the Open era, only Martina Hingis was younger than Sharapova when she won the women’s singles title. The Swiss miss was 16 when she beat Jana Novotna in the 1997 edition. Sharapova showed no early nerves and drew first blood by breaking the defending champion’s serve to lead 3-1 after Serena ballooned a backhand long. Serena, 22, was seeking her third successive Wimbledon singles crown but was unable to cope with the brute force of the 17-year-old’s groundstrokes. Sharapova broke again for 5-1 with a searing backhand winner and kept her composure to take the first set on her fourth set point when Serena netted a forehand service return. The 13th seed maintained her momentum at the start of the second set and a shell-shocked Serena was struck on the nose by the ball after one particularly venomous groundstroke from the Siberian. Earlier in the day, Andy Roddick reached his first Wimbledon final with a hard-fought 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 victory in a semi-final played over two days and littered with rain interruptions. The second seed will face defending champion Roger Federer in the final on Sunday. Federer beat Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean 6-2, 6-3, 7-6. (Reuters)
