Serena hopes reign not 'ova
Times Herald-Record
Final pits teen vs. defending champ \n Wimbledon, England — In a breach with recent tradition, Serena Williams' opponent in the Wimbledon women's final today won't be her sister Venus. Instead the def…
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Times Herald-Record
Final pits teen vs. defending champ

Wimbledon, England — In a breach with recent tradition, Serena Williams' opponent in the Wimbledon women's final today won't be her sister Venus. Instead the defending champ will play tennis' newest star, 17-year-old Maria Sharapova.

Venus Williams played in the past four finals, winning the title in 2000 and 2001, then losing to her kid sister in 2002 and 2003. Now Sharapova will attempt to end the family's four-year reign.

Born in Siberia and trained in Florida, she's the third-youngest female finalist at the sport's oldest event. Martina Hingis won the title in 1997 at 16, and Lottie Dod was the champion in 1887 at 15.

"I've just been enjoying the moment," Sharapova, seeded No. 13, said yesterday. "Every time I think about it that I'm in the final, it's an amazing feeling, like it gives me goose bumps."

Don't expect her to be unnerved by the occasion. Sharapova kept her cool this week to beat top-15 players Ai Sugiyama and Lindsay Davenport on Centre Court, each time after losing the first set.

"I think that's one of my strengths — that I fight, and I really want to win," she said. "I was never that kind of person that I wanted to practice and get myself better. I just wanted to compete and I wanted to play against girls, boys, whatever, older, younger. And I wanted to win."

Sharapova, under contract since 2002 with a modeling agency, gives the final a distinctly different look. While Williams returns, bidding to become the first woman to win three consecutive Wimbledon titles since Steffi Graf in 1991-93, her sister will be home in Florida.

Over the past five years, Venus Williams won 26 consecutive Wimbledon matches against opponents outside her family before losing in the second round to Karolina Sprem.

"I definitely wish she was here, and I definitely wish that I'd be ready to fight her in the final," Serena said. "I would be extremely, extremely nervous because she was playing so well."

Instead, Serena can be nervous about facing an upset-minded youngster.

The only previous meeting between the finalists came at Miami in March, with Williams winning 6-4, 6-3. The victory came in her third match following an eight-month layoff after knee surgery.

"She's a better player than she was in Miami," Williams said. "But I'm a much better player than I was in Miami, too."

Since winning Wimbledon a year ago, Williams has endured the shooting death of her half-sister, the long layoff and a comeback slowed by setbacks, notably her defeat in the French Open quarterfinals. Even if she wins today, she's projected to slip next week to 12th in the world rankings, a five-year low.

Sharapova, projected to climb to a career-best eighth if she wins, is part of an increasing Russian presence on the WTA Tour. At the French Open last month, Anastasia Myskina became the first Russian woman to win a Grand Slam title, and now Sharapova will try to make it two in a row.

"There are like 50 players from Russia in the top 10," said Williams, joking. "Every week you have to play an 'ova."