Wimbledon Betting / Editor / 23 June 2007 /

Maria Sharapova is hoping her new-found maturity will help her recreate her 2004 success at Wimbledon.

The Russian became an instant fans' favourite at the All England club at the age of 16 when she reached the fourth round at her first attempt - only to win the tournament 12 months later with a 6-1 6-4 victory over two-time winner Serena Williams.

The world number two reached the last four of the event in each of the last two years and heads into this year's first round as the overwhelming 1.03 favourite on Betfair's emerging "Match Odds" market to beat Yung Jan Chan (8).

Second seed Sharapova believes she is coming into form at the right time, adding she is continuing to develop her game.

"As the years go on, I'm adding little things to my game," said the reigning US Open champion. "I'm pretty excited once I do it. I'm like 'yippee!'

"Your whole game is set from a young age and it's not like I'm going to change my grip or change anything dramatic but you might adjust things and add variety to your game.

"You try to improve little things here and there after watching your matches on video. That all comes with experience - that's a key factor in all that."

Sharapova is confident she has finally shaken off the shoulder injury which disrupted her progress at the French Open and the recent DFS Classic in Birmingham.

Her first genuine challenge could come in a potential fourth-round meeting with three-times former champion Venus Williams, with an optimistic Sharapova also available at 2.96 on Betfair's developing "Women's Championship - To Reach The Final" market.

"As long as I'm healthy, there is no reason I can't win," added Sharapova, who is on offer at 7.6 - behind warm favourite Justine Henin (3.45) and Serena Williams (4.5) - in the outright winner market.

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