Russian press hails Maria Sharapova

Moscow - Russian newspapers lavished praise on Wednesday on 17-year-old Russian tennis sensation Maria Sharapova, saying her triumph over Serena Williams in the finals of the WTA Tour Championships was a victory for the history books and for her native country.

"Ave, Maria!" the centrist daily Izvestia proclaimed in a headline capping a page one package illustrated by a photograph of the Siberian-born Maria smiling timidly and clutching her crystal trophy after her win in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Izvestia compared her dramatic come-from-behind victory to a "high-budget thriller" that would go down in sports history because it was "even better than the legendary semifinal" between Maria and Lindsay Davenport at Wimbledon this year, a tournament also won by the Russian.

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