Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Career Grand Slam winner Maria
Sharapova will go for a "Golden Slam" on Saturday when she plays in the
women's singles gold medal match at the London Summer Games.
The third-seeded former world No. 1 superstar blew past No. 14 seed Maria
Kirilenko 6-2, 6-3 in an all-Russian semifinal Friday on Court 1 at the All
England Club.
The French Open champion Sharapova will meet the Victoria Azarenka-Serena
Williams winner on Saturday. Azarenka is the reigning world No. 1. The former
top-ranked Williams, also searching for a Golden Slam, captured another
Wimbledon title in this London suburb just last month.
Sharapova topped Kirilenko in 1 hour, 29 minutes despite committing 14 more
unforced errors (19-5). The tall slugger, however, also popped six aces,
tallied three more service breaks (4-1), and struck 28 more winners (35-7) on
Day 7 of this nine-day event.
The 25-year-old Sharapova is now 4-2 lifetime against Kirilenko, including 2-0
this year.
Russian women have now accounted for three of the last four Olympic gold medal
match finalists. Russia swept the women's singles medals four years ago in
Beijing, when Elena Dementieva captured gold, Dinara Safina took home silver,
and Vera Zvonareva secured bronze.
Sharapova will appear in her 43rd career WTA-level final, seeking a 28th
championship. She's already titled at the French Open, Stuttgart and Rome this
year and is a three-time 2012 runner-up, including the Australian Open.
The Sports Network