Sharapova is veteran among women

Associated Press

WIMBLEDON, England

Once a teen sensation, Maria Sharapova is the elder stateswoman at Wimbledon this year.

At 24, the Russian is the oldest of the women’s semifinalists at the All England Club, and by far the most experienced. Being the veteran is new for Sharapova, who was just 17 when she won her only Wimbledon title in 2004.

The other three semifinalists — Victoria Azarenka, Petra Kvitova and Sabine Lisicki — are all 21 and have no Grand Slam finals among them. Only Kvitova has reached a Grand Slam semifinal before, having made the last four at Wimbledon last year.

“I think a few years don’t really make that much of a difference,” the fifth-seeded Sharapova said. “I think maybe if I achieved big things when I was a little bit older, not 17, maybe I wouldn’t be seen as more of a veteran. I’d still be considered young.

“But I don’t regret for a second that I had a lot of success when I was young, because I feel like I got to learn so much more than players at my age.”

Today Sharapova will play Lisicki, the 62nd-ranked German who became only the second wild card to reach the women’s semis at Wimbledon after Zheng Jie in 2008. The fifth-ranked Azarenka plays No. 8 Kvitova.

“In one sense, yeah, they’re coming up, because they’re reaching the bigger stages of the Grand Slams and they’re trying to win their first one as well,” Sharapova said of her fellow semifinalists. “But I also feel it’s not the first time I’m seeing them in the draw or seeing them at the tournament. It’s not like they’re 15 or 16 years old.”

Still, regardless of who wins this year, it will be the youngest women’s champion since Sharapova’s victory.