But she had to abandon the attempt after failing to get a signal, and went to pick up her trophy instead.

Her victory completes a meteoric rise for the girl from Siberia who first used a sawn-off racket to bounce tennis balls against a wall.

Sharapova looked cool, calm and confident from the outset, breaking Williams twice in the first set to win in straight sets 6-1, 6-4.

As she won, she dropped to her knees and buried her head in her hands before raising her hands to heaven.

She climbed in among the crowd to reach her father and coach Yuri and gave him an enormous hug.

The Russian has seized all the headlines from SW19 over the last two weeks with her 6ft model looks, skimpy outfits and noisy grunts.

Today she wore her customary tennis dress slashed to the hip and her long blode hair tied back in a ponytail.

Williams stuck to her gladiator-style skirt, which she earlier admitted was her lucky choice for the tournament.

Williams fought hard, breaking strings in two tennis rackets, but the Russian was too good for the world ranking number one.

At one point, Williams’ anguished cries equalled the well-known shrieks of the teenager.

Out on Henman Hill, renamed Sharapova Summit for the occasion, spectators gasped in admiration at the teenager’s performance.

There was standing room only as the crowd cheered on the teenager’s every move.

Steve Baker, 34, from Middlesbrough said: “I am so impressed by Sharapova and Serena never looked as though she was in the match.

“It would have been a miracle for Serena to win.” Margaret Edge, a 56-year-old from Gravesend, added: “Sharapova was excellent from the start, she really played well. Her win was unbelievable.”