From Centre Court to center of attention

Who knows? If Newport Beach tennis fans are lucky, they could be in

on the birth of the next big sports sensation -- and in their own

back yard.

She’s just a child, but 17-year-old Maria Sharapova’s got game,

and she’s bringing it to the Palisades Tennis Club in Newport Beach

to play for the Newport Beach Breakers.

In her second season on the team, she will join six other players

-- including top-ranked doubles brothers Mike and Bob Bryan -- to

play World Team Tennis.

But after last weekend’s Wimbledon final -- where the Russian-born

Sharapova upset Serena Williams, 6-1, 6-4, to become the

third-youngest Wimbledon champion ever -- Sharapova will be the

center of attention, especially because she is the lone returner to

the Newport Beach team from last season.

That’s right. Even before her break-out match, Newport Beach

tennis aficionados have seen Sharapova develop into a 6-foot-tall

phenom with a mean ground game and elite strength. What’s more, along

with another tennis star, Lindsay Davenport, we get to see yet

another player with local ties up-close on the local courts.

It’s still early. Comparisons to Steffi Graf or Martina

Navratilova are probably premature and not fair. But it is Newport

Beach where tennis fans -- fresh after watching the greatness of

Wimbledon -- will get a glimpse of a player whose star seems sure to

become brighter. Selfish? Yes. But not any less fun. Believe us, this

is no fashion show, no beauty contest. Sharapova seems intent on

honing her game locally as the U.S. Open nears.

“She’s much prettier than Anna [Kournikova] and 10 times the

player. I predict she’ll be No. 1 in the future,” second-year coach

Dick Leach told the Pilot recently.

In the end, we might not be able to say watching Sharapova was

like watching early Jordan, Magic, Martina and Steffi. But there’s

nothing like watching what we now know is a world-class talent, not

far from home.

Sharapova will play two home matches for the Breakers at Palisades

Tennis Club on July 14 against the Sacramento Capitals and July 17

against the Kansas City Explorers.

Take your pick.