Russian teenage sensation Maria Sharapova insists she can win Wimbledon after
coming up with the "perfect" preparation.
The 17-year-old from Siberia, the youngest of six Russian girls in the world's
top 15, claimed a 4-6 6-2 6-1 victory over unseeded French youngster Tatiana
Golovin in the final of the DFS Classic in Birmingham.
It was Sharapova's third WTA tour singles success but her first on grass and
she will head for SW19 with realistic hopes of going all the way after reaching
the fourth round as a relative unknown a year ago.
"Every tournament I play, I want to win," she said. "It will be a dream
come true if I can win it but why not? I have seen players a long time ago play
and win at a young age, so why can I not?
"This is the best preparation you can get, getting so many tough matches in,
a good win and a week off. It's very good preparation.
"And, when you win a title, it always gives you confidence that you can win
more."
Sharapova, who made the big breakthrough a year ago by reaching the last four
in Birmingham, had to come from behind to win the battle of the glamorous
teenagers.
Only two women's finals in the 36 years of the Open era have contained younger
participants. The record was established in San Diego in 1991 when a 15-year-old
Jennifer Capriati beat then world number one Monica Seles.
Golovin, still only 16 but fresh from a mixed doubles victory in the French
Open, will also head for Wimbledon with high hopes after quickly finding her
feet on grass.
She might have been celebrating a famous debut victory had she been able to
maintain a blazing start which left the highly-fancied Sharapova struggling to
stay in contention.
"She did everything right in the first set," admitted Sharapova. "Every
ball she hit was in and she served out of her mind. Her first serve percentage
was 82 and that is just too good.
"I just hung in there. I knew I wasn't playing bad and so I didn't change my
game plan."
The two youngsters, both products of the famous Nick Bollettieri Tennis
Academy in Florida, slugged it out from the back of the court like old warhorses
under a hot sun.
Golovin achieved the only break of the first set, but, once Sharapova got the
measure of her opponent's powerful serve, fortunes began to swing irreversibly
in the Russian's favour.
The French girl called for treatment for a lower-back injury after being
broken for the second time in the deciding set and, although she battled on, she
never won another game and eventually surrendered tamely.
Tatiana's tactics smacked of the gamesmanship that marked her semi-final
against Emilie Loit but Sharapova, 12 months older and wiser, was not going to
be taken in.
"She did it by the rules," said the Russian. "I've been in those kind of
situations before and I kept my cool. I played with her in the juniors and we've
had those kind of things before.
"I knew in the back of my mind that, if I'm up, she can do that. But she was
still running like a rabbit out there."
Golovin was still able to smile after her defeat as she contemplated a
meteoric rise of almost 400 places in the rankings in two years.
"She's a great player, ranked 15th in the world, and so this is a great
achievement for me," said Golovin, who is now on the brink of the top 50.
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