Serena out to spoil Sharapova's debut

Maria Sharapova takes centre stage at Wimbledon on Saturday with opponent Serena Williams hoping the Russian's first experience of a grand slam final will be very different from her own.

Five years ago, Serena was a 17-year-old grand slam final debutante when she beat Martina Hingis to win the U.S. Open at her second attempt.

Now 22, Serena will be chasing her seventh grand slam title on Saturday against a 17-year-old who has taken her second Wimbledon by storm.

While acknowledging the statistics, Serena will give her all to ensure the end result is different on Saturday.

"Similarities?" asked Serena on Friday. "I don't know. We were both in a final at 17. We were really excited to be there.

"We'll see," she added, ominously.

If Serena does have the beating of the young Russian, and her fighting comeback victory over Amelie Mauresmo in the semi-finals

put paid to any suggestions she may have softened since surgery last year, she will be only the ninth women to have won three or more straight Wimbledon single's titles.

The feat would put Serena in company with such luminaries of the women's game as Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King and Steffi Graf.

But there is also the chance that a new name may be added to the list of grand slam champions and a first non-American since Czech Jana Novotna in 1998 will lift the Venus Rosewater Dish.

There is also unfinished business in the rain-hit men's semi-finals with champion Roger Federer leading Sebastien Grosjean 6-2 6-3 4-3 and second seed Andy Roddick 6-4 4-3 up against Mario Ancic.