Wimbledon146;s new winner

8220;Serena actually I have to take this way from you for one year, I8217;m sorry,8221; 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 we8217;re going to play.

In the Open era, only Martina Hingis was younger than Sharapova when she won the women8217;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 champion8217;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-old8217;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