Maria Sharapova returns to Wimbledon Final

Maria Sharapova, the rejuvenated glamour girl of women's tennis, will take on low-profile Czech player Petra Kvitova in the Wimbledon title showdown after two scrappy semi-finals on Thursday.


Russian fifth seed Sharapova, the 2004 champion, outgunned German wildcard Sabine Lisicki 6-4, 6-3 while eighth-seeded Kvitova reached her first Grand Slam final with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 win over Belarusian fourth seed Victoria Azarenka. World number 62 Lisicki, who had stunned second seeded French Open champion Li Na in the second round, was always in trouble after her powerful serve deserted her midway through the first set. "It's amazing to be back in the final at Wimbledon, it's been a while," a delighted Sharapova said.


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Maria Sharapova advances to Wimbledon semifinals

Maria Sharapova looked like a champion under the Centre Court roof at Wimbledon, advancing to the semifinals at the All England Club for the first time since 2006 with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Dominika Cibulkova on Tuesday.


Sharapova, the only Wimbledon champion remaining in the women's draw after the Williams sisters were eliminated a day earlier, won eight straight games to win the first set and take control of the second. The fifth-seeded Russian has not lost a set at this year's tournament, and she was nowhere near losing one Tuesday. "It's been a few years since I got past the fourth round, and now I'm in the semifinals," said Sharapova, who won the tournament in 2004 and also reached the semifinals in '05. "So this a great chance for me to take it a step further."


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Maria Sharapova Beats Peng Shuai

Maria Sharapova has advanced to the Wimbledon quarterfinals by beating Peng Shuai of China 6-4, 6-2.



The fifth-seeded Russian, who won the 2004 title at the All England Club, broke for the first time to take a 5-4 lead in the first set Monday. From that break, she won seven straight games to take control.

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Maria Sharapova storms into last 16 at Wimbledon 2011

Maria Sharapova advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon by defeating Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-3.



The fifth-seeded Russian won the title at the All England Club in 2004, but last reached the semifinals in 2006.

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Maria Sharapova stops 17-year-old Robson at Wimbledon

Maria Sharapova overcame Briton Laura Robson and a partisan crowd on Number One court to reach the Wimbledon third round on Friday.



The Russian former champion won 7-6 6-3 but the 17-year-old Robson, world number 254, delighted the home fans by roaring into a 4-1 lead in the first set. Fifth seed Sharapova grew increasingly tetchy as the crowd sensed a huge upset but she fought back to force a tiebreak which she won 7-4.

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Maria Sharapova wins all-Russian match at Wimbledon

Maria Sharapova moved into the second round at Wimbledon on Tuesday, winning an all-Russian match against Anna Chakvetadze 6-2, 6-1.


The No. 52-ranked Chakvetadze managed to break once in the second set but was otherwise outclassed by her sixth-seeded opponent in just over an hour.

Sharapova, who won the tournament in 2004 but hasn't gone beyond the fourth round since 2006, is the only former champion in the women's tournament other than Venus and Serena Williams.

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Maria Sharapova: if I could win another Grand Slam ...

Maria Sharapova says a 2011 Wimbledon win would be biggest Grand Slam of her career. After winning Wimbledon in 2004 with an unlikely victory over Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova has won only two other Grand Slam events, and none since her 2008 shoulder surgery.



"If I could win another Grand Slam," Sharapova said Saturday, "it would mean more than the previous ones that I have, because of the injury and everything.

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