Sharapova stunned as Venus shines

THERE is something about Wimbledon which brings out the best in Venus Williams.

Struggling with form and fitness this year, and in danger of an early exit from the All England Club in previous rounds, the American produced easily the best tennis of the championships so far to overwhelm second seed Maria Sharapova in the fourth round yesterday.

The three-time champion served superbly and came out on top in a battle of thunderous ground-strokes to thrash Sharapova 6-1 6-3 in less than an hour and book a quarter-final clash with another Russian, Svetlana Kuznetsova.