| Sharapova
into
top
10 |
| |
| Maria
Sharapova
has
moved
into
the
world
top
10
for
the
first
time
following
her
Wimbledon
success. |
| |
| Maria
Sharapova
not
only
beat
Serena
Williams
to
win
the
Wimbledon
title,
she
pushed
aside
some
of
Russia's
top
political
and
business
news.
She
even
got
a
phone
call
from
President
Vladimir
Putin. |
| |
| Her
swift
and
efficient
victory
Saturday
received
extensive
attention
on
Russian
television
news
shows.
Some
broadcasts
put
the
match
ahead
of
a
law-enforcement
raid
at
the
Yukos
oil
company
_
whose
troubles
have
been
one
of
Russia's
most
prominent
ongoing
stories
_
and
the
big
dispute
for
control
of
the
Communist
Party. |
| |
| Putin
telephoned
Sharapova
to
congratulate
her
and
"wish
her
further
successes
in
her
sports
career,"
the
ITAR-Tass
news
agency
reported. |
| |
| State-controlled
Channel
1
television
gave
Sharapova
top
billing
on
its
main
9
p.m.
newscast,
noting
that
although
she
has
lived
in
the
United
States
for
the
past
decade,
"she
thinks
in
Russian." |
| |
| "Maria
has
ended
the
hegemony
of
the
Williams
sisters,"
the
newspaper
Sport-Ekspress
said
on
its
Web
site. |
| |
| "It's
the
second
great
victory
for
the
homeland's
tennis
in
less
than
a
month,"
the
report
added,
referring
to
Anastasia
Myskina's
win
at
the
French
Open
in
June
over
fellow
Russian
Elena
Dementieva. |
| |
| While
the
quality
of
play
at
the
French
Open
final
underwhelmed
many,
Sharapova
displayed
exceptional
technique
and
assurance
in
her
6-1,
6-4
victory. |
| |
| "All
in
all,
Masha
Sharapova
gave
up
just
five
games
to
the
menacing
Serena
Williams
in
the
Wimbledon
final!,"
said
Sovietsky
Sport,
the
country's
other
major
sports
newspaper,
on
its
Web
site,
which
also
has
included
her
photos
in
a
"Hot
Five"
sidebar
of
beautiful
female
athletes. |
| |
| The
17-year-old
Sharapova
appears
to
be
in
for
a
tidal
wave
of
celebrity
treatment. |
| |
| "All
the
newspapers
and
channels
are
going
to
be
writing
about
the
Russian
victor.
Glorious
attention
awaits
Maria
Sharapova
...
her
career
is
just
beginning,"
said
commentator
Andrei
Cherkasov
on
NTV
television,
which
allotted
nearly
four
minutes
of
coverage
to
her
victory
during
its
afternoon
news
Sunday. |
| |
| Russian
newspapers
don't
publish
Sunday
editions,
so
Monday
most
likely
will
be
the
first
indicator
of
how
intense
the
media
coverage
may
be. |
| |
| But
in
the
competition
for
attention
Monday,
she
faces
an
opponent
even
more
formidable
than
Williams
_
the
Euro
2004
soccer
final.
The
Russian
sports
press
reports
soccer
in
near-scholarly
detail,
and
the
tournament
has
dominated
sports
coverage
in
recent
weeks,
even
long
after
the
Russian
team
was
eliminated. |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
| Links
:- |
| Maria
Sharapova |
|
| |
| Copyright
©
2004
Nicam
Associated
Press.
All
rights
reserved.
This
material
may
not
be
published,
broadcast,
rewritten,
or
redistributed. |
| |
