Maria Sharapova, the Russian star with the California address who is still one of the world’s most visible sports figures, will enjoy her first Grand Slam final since the 2008 Australian Open.

“Today wasn’t my best match of the championships, so I was real happy to get through in two sets,” Sharapova said. “But it’s pretty amazing to be back on that stage.”

She appeared to have stage fright in the early going against Lisicki, the big-serving German who reached the semifinals as a wild card. Sharapova’s serve — an ongoing issue since her comeback from shoulder surgery in 2009 — was shaky again, but she is through and that is all that matters.

“The first three games she played very well, and I did quite the opposite,” Sharapova said. “And then, you know, I told myself to take it one point at a time and really focus. I felt like I just kind of got in my zone.”

There was plenty of shaky tennis from there, but there was also some classic Sharapova: huge, flat ground strokes struck at sharp angles with full-blown self-belief.

On the sidelines the leggy Russian received lofty support from her fiance, the 6ft 7in New Jersey Nets shooting guard, Sasha Vujacic.

Sharapova is looking a good bet to repeat her 2004 Wimbledon triumph after crushing Zakopalova 6-2, 6-3 in just 78 minutes.

Her more serious rivals will be made to jump through hoops if she continues in such relentless fashion. And she admits the company of her boyfriend helps her tennis.

Sharapova said: “It’s been really nice because when he moved to Jersey, we didn’t get to see each other that much. This trip has kind of made up for it.

“You get to know a lot about the person by being with them every single day, which we hadn’t really had in our whole relationship. So it’s been really nice.

“We both enjoyed it. But we’ve obviously been at tournaments. We are very competitive, so we’re doing everything in order for me to win tennis matches.”

Sharapova’s rehabilitation from a string of shoulder and elbow injuries is nearly complete. Her power and movement around the court are now approaching the level she showed when she first exploded on to the scene as a teenager.

But by her own admission it is far easier for her to be on court than to watch Vujacic in action for the Nets.

Maria said: “There’s no doubt that I’ve watched more basketball in the last couple of years than I have in all of my life.

“I have never been more nervous in my life than in those games. I think it’s a lot easier to play. That’s what I’ve learned.”

Vujacic is known in the basketball world as The Machine – but in the coming week it will be his girlfriend mowing down all before her.

Pushing through the first round with no difficulty, Maria Sharapova was a winner at the 2011 Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London today.

The former champion moved into the second round after beating fellow Russian Anna Chakvetadze by a score of 6-2, 6-1.

With things going smoothly, Sharapova was broken only once in the second set while cruising to the match triumph in just over an hour.

The 24-year-old will not face off against either British wildcard Laura Robson or Germany’s Angelique Kerber in the next round of the annual tournament.