Just in case you wondered from the last picture why the girls got such a small trophy, the answer is that this is the real one. Ana pictured triumpant in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower on Saturday

Last year’s finalist who lost to Justine Henin Ana Ivanovic is 6.1 Serbian born in Belgrade and stands against the Russian tide.
The essential things you need to know about her are…

Favourite food - sushi

Favourite drink - water

No, she is not a babe at all and in 2007 started studying finance online which she may well need pretty soon. She is superstitious and refuses to walk on the lines of the court and tends to always eat in the same restaurants each night which will be good news for the Feng Shui branch at Wimbledon. Before a match she plays sudoko or backgammon.
She says she is “strong-willed, sensitive, determined and extremely competitive”. Already she is 8/1 to pick up the Wimbledon title. You can bet on her Betclick

A champion in defeat. Maria lost 7-6 6-7 2-6 to Russian 13 seed Dinara Safina in the 4th round in 2 hours and 52 minutes.

The 1st set took 68 minutes . There were no breaks in the first six games and then in the seventh Maria broke Safina’s serve when she hit a winner after a long rally. Safina didn’t give Maria much time to get comfortable as she broke Maria back in the next game. The tie-break was close and Safina had two set-points but Maria managed to take it 8-6.
There was a rain delay at 0-1 15-30 and when the players came back, Maria went down 2-0 but came back to level 2-2 . Maria’s level started to get better and better as she managed to break Safina to lead 4-2 when she hit a backhand winner and Maria then held her serve to lead 5-2. Safina came back to take the next 3 games to level the set 5-5, the next 2 games were holds of serve to force another tie-break. Maria took a 5-2 lead in the tie-break but then lost 5 straight points.

Maria broke in the 1st game of the final set when Safina hit a volley long. The set was level at 2-2 when Safina took 4 straight games to take the set and the match.

Bet on Safina at 19/1 to win Wimbledon

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For $49 you can smell as fragrant as Maria Sharapova with her exclusive range of Parlux perfumes. This is a distinction she shares with Andy Roddick, logically, and Chelsea Hilton, illogically. “They will make you feel feminine and confident with its fresh fragrant garden florals appeal…perfect for day and night”.

Earlier this month the enigma that is Maria came to the fore when she refused to do a promotional event for the World Tennis Association in Rome saying she was only there to play tennis. They threatened to fine her $300,000 and a compromise was brokered with a 90 minute promotion, with Maria dressed in a swimsuit. The authorities are as confused as everyone else by this icon who is still playing tennis and caught in the vortex of a global media machine and dealing with everything with the kind of calm, sang froid that might make her a great poker player.

She won on clay in Amelia Island this year, lost to Serena Williams in Georgia, played some long games in Rome before pulling out with a pulled muscle or wanted to make a point…The WTA may have felt that it has helped make her what she is, but it is Sony Eriksson for whom she is a mobile ambassador who have made her the richest girl in the game and it is Tiffany’s who like to style her jewellery alongside Nike designing her dresses. After Wimbledon the richest sports woman in the world heads for the Olympic ideal in Beijing. Despite all this, she is favourite to win at Roland Garros and favourite to win at Wimbledon. She is already 2/1 to win on grass which has some sense to it. To win on the slow clay at Paris is perhaps another story. But then with Maria, it is very often, another storyBut then this girl is just turned 21 in April. She opens her MySpace page with this explanation of her down home, orange county values.

“For those who don’t know me, I’m Maria Sharapova. I’m a Women’s Pro Tennis Player. My Ranking is Number 1. I am 21 Years Old, Living in Bradenton, Florida. I love playing tennis and practicing on my game.

“I started hitting tennis balls at the age of four. At the age of six, I participated in a exhibition in Moscow that featured Martina Navratilova. So, at the age of nine, I began training at Nick Bollettieris Tennis Academy located in Brandenton, Florida, Therefore, during those two years, I was separated from my mother for two year due to visa restrictions and finances. …During my leisure time off court, my interest includes modeling in fashion, singing, jazz dancing and movies. In 2004 I won Wimbledon!”

For her foundation to help disadvantaged children get a start in the world she spells the mission out like this

M otivate children worldwide

A ddress thier individual strengths and weaknesses

R ealize thier potential

I ntitate, and

A chevie their dreams

That’s her spelling, not mine, but then my Russian is crap.

Another aspect to the Maria Sharapova phenomenon is that Maria has been auctioning off her old clothes to support her Foundation which supports a community projects in the nuclear disaster zone around Chernobyl and other ideas to empower disenfranchised children. Quite what and why people buy into this extremely sensible act of charity is revealed off her web site. Her 2007 Wimbledon winning dress sold for $4,200. For you fashionistas here are some other examples:

Signed 2007 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Calendar - $551.00

Nike Visor - Signed - $770.00

2007 Australian Open Nike Match Dress -$7,700.00

Pair of Nike Shoes - $520.00

2007 French Open Dress $3,000.00

2008 Australian Open Nike Dress $10,000.00

While Maria was catching the eye on the clay courtthis little revealing shot was flying around the Internet. Ever since Marilyn Monroe stood over the gush of air from under the street grills, photographers have dreamed of finding another woman who could play the role. This one does not appear in the collection of 2994 photos on her own official site but is in the style of Kim Bassinger in Basic Instinct. In case you did not guess it is the richest girl in sport.