Mauresmo Holds Her Nerve

Amelie Mauresmo reached her first Wimbledon final with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 victory over Maria Sharapova in an enthralling contest on Centre Court.

The Australian Open champion will meet Justine Henin-Hardenne in the tournament showpiece on Saturday following a nerve-wracking contest against Sharapova.

Mauresmo, the French No1 seed, produced an irresistible display that ended her run of losing in the semi-finals of her last three visits to Wimbledon.

She looked to be cruising early in the second set but ice-cool Sharapova, winner at the All England Club in 2004, hit back with some unstoppable shots from the baseline.

However Mauresmo, 27, composed herself for a tense third set, which she controlled with an intelligent gameplan that took the sting out of the Russian fourth seed's power.

Games went with serve until the eighth game, when Mauresmo secured three break points. Sharapova defended all three but Mauresmo clinched another which the 19-year-old Russian fired long.

Serving for the set, Mauresmo quickly forced three set points only to lose her nerve with a double fault.

Sharapova was on top, expertly moving Mauresmo around the court, but she blundered on a simple smash to give her French opponent the set.

Mauresmo made the best possible start to the second set, breaking Sharapova in the opening game with some splendid work at the net.

It came as a surprise when she suffered a wobble on her own serve. Sharapova bagged her first break point of the match which Mauresmo struck long but she immediately surrendered the advantage.

A perfectly-weighted parry to a bullet forehand from Sharapova set up the decisive point which Mauresmo won when her opponent double-faulted, giving her a 2-1 lead.

Sharapova lost her range in the fifth and conceded three break points, but showed a cool head to save them.

Another poor smash, which Mauresmo returned beautifully, saw her concede a fourth but once again she rallied before closing the game out.

And her spirit was on full show in the sixth when she broke back with Mauresmo double-faulting on the crucial point.

The French number one's woes continued in the eighth when her serve went to pieces, resulting in a break point, and when Sharapova hit the net she screamed in defiance.

But Mauresmo was delaying the inevitable and she was broken by a searing backhand before conceding four set points in the next game, losing the set 6-3 on the last.

The second game of the third set produced some thrilling moments, Mauresmo pulling off an impossible winner before Sharapova replied with a bullet ace.

Mauresmo secured three break points, the third of which the Russian hit long.

A string of drop shots saw Mauresmo remain in the driving seat and when Sharapova double-faulted in the fourth, the Geneva-based French ace was 4-0 ahead.

Sharapova broke in the fifth and threatened to do the same in the seventh but Mauresmo held her nerve to move within one game of victory.

Mistakes by Sharapova led to two match points in the eighth and Mauresmo won on the second of them when the Russian hit a stray forehand.