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Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova 11/5 Favorite in Australian Open
Maria Sharapova has been listed as the 11/5 favorite in the 2007 Australian Open January 28. Sharapova will enter a grand slam tournament as the top seed for only the second time, as she replaces No. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne. Pending further withdrawals, the Open field will include eight former world No. 1s, 18 of the top 20 women and all the top 20 men, including Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, who was unseeded during his surprise run to last year's final but returns 12 months later as the No. 11, according to The Age. Henin-Hardenne, cited personal problems for backing out of the Australian Open. Sharapova will certainly be a big draw this year. She is the reigning US Open champion, after defeating Henin Hardenne in the 2006 final, and she's the highest paid female athlete. XtraMSN tells us, she showed her spunk, after the match, when fending off accusations her notorious father Yuri had instructed her when to eat a banana during the final. Maria Sharapova backs Australian Open OrganisersWhile others like Roger Federer and Amelie Mauresmo blame the overbusy schedules for the injury waves that continues to hit both the WTA Tour and ATP Tour, Sharapova does not give in and backs the Australian Open tournament organisers saying that pushing back the first Grandslam of the year to March would have grave consequences for anyone’s schedule. “Every grand slam has its advantages and disadvantages and the heat in Australia is definitely one of those,” Sharapova said in Melbourne. “It’s been held at this time of year for so many years, it’s kind of hard to say you’re going to move one of the biggest tournaments of the year and put it in the middle of the calendar because there are lot of other tournaments [that would be affected].” Sharapova and others such as Rafael Nadal, Nadia Petrova, Svetlana Kuznetsova have withdrawn from the tournaments this week. With the temparatures at the Open rising to unbearable temparatures , players believe the Australian Open should be pushed back two months when a temparatures have dropped considerably and would prevent injuries for many players. Sharapova argues however that players know what they get themselves into when they sign up for the Australian Open. “Unfortunately you do get some bad injuries, but that’s the way it goes,” said Sharapova, who is the face of the “Beat the Heat” campaign, a global crusade to highlight the dangers of dehydration and heat illness among active children. “You definitely want to play in better conditions, so if [there were] less heat, I’d definitely agree with that. “But it’s not easy taking a tournament out and putting it somewhere else in the schedule. It’s really hard to do.” She also points out the WTA are already making schedule adjustments for the players with the presentation of Roadmap 2010. The Roadmap development has seen input from tournaments, players, commercial and media partners with the overall objective of delivering a premium product for the fans plus at the same time looking after the players more. Maria Sharapova a smash hitMaria Sharapova had her first serious workout since flying in from Hong Kong on Monday. The Russian beauty, 19, smiled and laughed throughout her centre-court training session. One of the highest earners in tennis, Sharapova will take part in a publicity stunt tomorrow with sponsor Gatorade at Crown. A recently signed multi-million dollar endorsement deal with Pepsi is expected to push her earnings this year towards $38 million. Several players, including world No.1 Roger Federer, Russian powerhouse Marat Safin and American Andy Roddick, have been in town for a week. Most of the Open contenders stay at Crown Towers or the Grand Hyatt, both of which boast rooftop tennis courts. Safin is an annual Hyatt guest. The 2005 Australian Open champ is also a fan of its other court -- the food court. Federer and girlfriend Miroslava Vavrinec, along with Roddick and Serena and Venus Williams, are regular guests at Crown. The Williams sisters make a beeline for the casino's Versace store while Slovakian stunner Daniela Hantuchova is regularly seen strolling along Chapel St and the Paris end of Collins St. Last year's runner-up, the popular Marcos Baghdatis, can be seen floating between the Grand Hyatt and his restaurant of choice, Stalactites. Baghdatis made the Lonsdale St eatery his own during a giant-killing run last January and is again expected to dine in the private upstairs room. St Kilda's Stokehouse, Cafe e Cucina on Chapel St and Toorak Rd's Fiesta Restaurant are also popular among players. The Lleyton Hewitt circus came to town on Monday on a private jet. Hewitt and wife Bec will stay at their $8.3 million St Kilda Rd penthouse. Maria Sharapova 1 | Maria Sharapova 2 | Maria Sharapova 3 | Maria Sharapova 4 | Maria Sharapova 5 | Maria Sharapova 6 | Maria Sharapova 7 | Maria Sharapova 8 |
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