© Getty Images Sport – Mike Hewitt
Maria Sharapova acknowledged she felt the pressure of playing against Serena Williams in a Wimbledon final but also added that playing confidently and freely led to her clinching a pretty routine win. In 2004, a 17-year-old Sharapova lifted her first Grand Slam title after ousting Williams 6-1 6-4 in the Wimbledon final.
At the time, Williams was coming off a 6-4 6-3 Miami victory over Sharapova in their first meeting and the American was also bidding to win her seventh Grand Slam at Wimbledon. But Sharapova – who was playing in her first Grand Slam final – delivered a huge performance and lost a total of five games en route to sealing the Wimbledon title.
Sharapova recalls beating Williams for her first Slam at 2004 Wimbledon
“There was so much on the line in that match, one of the biggest reasons was because it was Wimbledon. Actually, I played Serena a few months back at a tournament in Miami and she easily won that match in two sets.
It was a moment itself when I really felt the weight. It was the fact that Wimbledon in my eyes growing up was ‘The Event, The Tournament,’ the place where as a professional you want to end up, you want those French…
