JUST DON’T CALL HER KOURNIKOVA

Melanie Neff

For all you ladies out there, July might be a good month to plan for

your summer vacation, or else just plan to lock up your men for the

month, because Maria Sharapova is coming to town.

The hottest thing to come to Newport Beach since, well, OK, she’s

no hotter than 90% of the high school girls walking around town, but

Teen People magazine selected her as one of “20 teens that will

change the world,” and the hoopla has begun.

The 16-year-old Russian tennis phenom, who will make her debut

with the Newport Beach Breakers on the World Team Tennis tour July 8

at Palisades Tennis Club, is touted as the next Anna Kournikova, but

that is based strictly on looks, and that is where the comparisons

end.

“There really is nothing to say,” Sharapova said during a

conference call Tuesday. “I want to be myself. I don’t want to be the

next Kournikova, I want to be the next Sharapova.”

And the young Siberian is making sure nobody confuses her with her

fellow Russian beauty.

Unlike Kournikova, Sharapova can actually win tournaments. She was

named the United States Tennis Association Pro Circuit Player of the

Week on Tuesday, after winning her second USTA title of her brief

career last week at the Cloisters Cup in Sea Island, Ga.

Sharapova, with her 6-foot, long-legged frame and flowing blond

hair, had a chance to dim Kournikova’s spotlight in the Cloisters

tournament where the two were scheduled to meet in the semifinals,

but No. 2-seed Kournikova defaulted at the last minute because of a

thigh injury.

“I was really ready for the match,” Sharapova said. “When I heard

that [she defaulted], it was good for me because I had a really tough

match before that. But I was ready to play her.”

Sharapova, the No. 3 seed, took the free ride into the finals and

recorded a 6-4, 6-3 victory over seventh-seeded Christina Wheeler of

Australia. Sharapova advanced to the semifinals, rallying to defeat

Kristina Brandi of Tampa, Fla., 2-6, 7-5, 6-2.

Kournikova’s only wins came seven years ago when she won two

International Tennis Federation tournaments in 1996.

Sharapova’s marketing machine, IMG, has her going full gear. She

has appeared in Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair and Sports Illustrated,

ESPN: The Magazine, as well as on the covers of Smash Tennis,

ADDvantage and several other tennis magazines. She was also featured

on HBO “Real Sports” with Bryant Gumbal. Sport Magazine nominated her

as one of 21 athletes to watch in the 21st century and she was

awarded the first annual “Rising Star Award” given to promising young

players who have shown tremendous talent at a young age.

Modeling photos and Web sites are popping up all over the

Internet. Fans have started www.mariaworld.com, and although she has

nowhere near the number of sites Kournikova has, just wait, they are

coming.

More importantly, so is her game. Sharapova can play, and yes, she

just happens to look good doing it.

She moved from Russia to the Bradenton, Fla., to be trained at the

Bollettieri Sports Academy when she was 7. She is coached by Robert

Lansdorp, the former coach of Lindsay Davenport and Pete Sampras. She

is expected to one day be a top-10 player. She is ranked 162nd in the

world by the USTA, but when rankings are released next week she is

expected to climb to 140. She is the youngest player ranked in the

top 300. Kournikova is currently 70th.

Sharapova, who turned 16 on April 19, began her pro career on her

14th birthday and has appeared in four USTA circuit finals. She won

her first title last year at the $25,000 Peachtree City, Ga. event.

Along with her two USTA titles, she was a junior finalist at the 2002

Australian Open and Wimbledon. She has also won four titles on the

ITF circuit.

She won her first professional match in 2002 at the $25,000 event

in Columbus, Ohio, where she defeated Teryn Ashley, 7-6, 1-6, 7-5.

She made her WTA debut at 14 at Indian Wells. She knocked out Brie

Rippner in the first round before losing, 6-0, 6-2 to Monica Seles.

Sharapova’s next tournament will be trying to qualify for the French

Open, which begins May 24.

Sharapova said the last year hasn’t been easy for her, as her body

continues to grow. And after having a recent X-ray for an ankle

sprain, she found out she is likely to reach beyond 6-0. While it is

a benefit for tennis players to be tall, Sharapova said it has taken

adjustment.

“On the other side, it’s very difficult,” she said. “I didn’t feel

anything until I went out and played matches. There was a streak at

the beginning of the year where I didn’t play well because of it.”

She seems to be adjusting this year, and is looking forward to her

second season in the WTT. She played with the Delaware Smash last

year and said she greatly benefited from the experience.

“It improved my game unbelievably,” Sharapova said. “It was a

great experience for me. I look forward to the same thing this year

and getting as much out of the experience as I can get out of it.”