WIMBLEDON, England -- Seven years after winning Wimbledon as a 17-year-old, Maria Sharapova is back in the final, this time as a three-time Grand Slam winner and heavy favorite.

Petra Kvitova is preparing for her first Grand Slam final. The 21-year-old Czech might be dreaming of a debut like Sharapova's, who overpowered Serena Williams, 6-1, 6-4, in 2004 to make her mark as a future superstar of the game.

The gap between Wimbledon finals might surprise some, but Sharapova was sidelined by a shoulder injury and had surgery in 2008. She has slowly made her way back to the final week of a Grand Slam.

"That's the way it goes," Sharapova said Friday. "You obviously hope that you can be in the final stages every single year, but I guess it's just not meant to happen. This is the year I'm supposed to be back in the final. I don't know why."

Since 2004, Sharapova has added the 2006 U.S. Open and the 2008 Australian Open titles. But shoulder surgery in October 2008 took her off the singles court for nearly 10 months and required a change in her servicemotion.The match today against Kvitova will be her first Grand Slam final since 2008. It is these moments that Sharapova visualized while

nursing her shoulder back to health.

"I had time to reflect on my career and things that I've achieved," Sharapova said. "But I think I was always looking towards the future

more than anything than in the past, because that's where I was trying to envision myself at some point to be getting back out there."

Kvitova said Friday her parents are flying over from Prostejov to watch her attempt to become the first Czech woman to win Wimbledon since Jana Novotna in 1998.

"I'm not nervous," she said. "I'm looking forward to (today), for sure."