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Post by annie on Aug 14, 2005 13:05:53 GMT 3
hmmm...it look like she's going down the same path as Anna K. don't you think?
anyway, i heard a rumor abt. Desperate Housewives' Eva Longoria wanted to have Andy Roddick to guest in the show as her "lover" but it was scrapped by the writers and kept Jesse Metcalfe instead...
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Post by alsl on Aug 14, 2005 19:24:33 GMT 3
mayb she's tired of ole jesse and wants somebody.........taller *shrugs*  |
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Post by Annie on Aug 23, 2005 11:30:23 GMT 3
Maria hosted a special even for teenage girls yesterday and there are some nice photos for those, who like Masha  www.gettyimages.com go to Editorial and then Sports, you'll see them right away  |
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Laney
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Post by Laney on Aug 23, 2005 22:30:51 GMT 3
Interesting article on Maria and being Russian: news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/4176152.stmFrom Russia - no love
By Matt Slater
This will not surprise regular readers of the "good book", but it is incredible how many home truths are revealed in the Bible.
Take, for example, the Old Testament tale of the Gileadites and the Ephraimites.
After a great battle, the victorious Gileadites set about catching the fleeing Ephraimites.
With identification a problem, their soldiers asked each person to say the ancient Hebrew word for ear of corn, "shibboleth".
Problem solved: the Ephraimites, with no "sh" sound in their dialect, couldn't pronounce it properly and promptly fell into the trap.
For "shibboleth" then, read "Sharapova" now.
Because in the week that the 18-year-old Maria Sharapova became the 15th player to reach the women's number one spot since rankings started, correct pronunciation is once again the nub of the matter.
Put simply, is the best female tennis player in the world an ad man's dream from Florida called "Sha-ra-POH-vuh" (as the Women's Tennis Association's pronunciation guide advises), or is she a rags to riches story from Siberia called "Sha-RAP-oh-vuh"?
Americans, the world's non-Russian-speaking media and, apparently, Sharapova herself prefer the former. Russian speakers insist it is the latter.
But is the 2004 Wimbledon champion still Russian?
There are many in the country she left behind aged nine that no longer consider the baseline beauty to be one of their own.
Sharapova was taken by her coach and father Yuri to begin full-time training at Nick Bollettieri's renowned Tennis Academy in Florida.
Tennis folklore states that Yuri had to borrow £400 to do this, and it is widely known that Maria's mother Yelena was unable to join them for two years.
Nine years later, the leggy blonde with a booming forehand and a court-eating stride is a sports sensation....with an American accent, lifestyle and attitude.
Chief among those in the "made in America" camp are Sharapova's compatriots in the higher reaches of women's tennis.
When US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, ranked fifth in the world, was asked who was the most popular Russian player, she said: "Sharapova, of course, but I don't know if you would call her Russian, though.
"She is more American than Russian. She speaks Russian with a coarse accent."
For Anastasia Myskina, the 2004 French Open champion and world number 13, Sharapova's MTV accent is the least of it - it's her Little League father and suspect loyalty to Mother Russia that bothers her.
Not only has Sharapova failed to play in front of her Russian fans in recent years, she has also declined to play for her country in the Fed Cup, the women's version of the Davis Cup.
This, and a perceived slight from the cheerleading Yuri, has riled the patriotic Myskina.
"If (Sharapova) joins our (Fed Cup) team next season, you won't see me there for sure," she said.
For her part, Sharapova is determined to remain true to her roots.
She has repeatedly explained that she skipped the Fed Cup so she could concentrate on becoming number one, and has continued to maintain that she has no plans to become a fully-fleged American.
And she is not without some support from "home".
Shamil Tarpishev, Russia's Fed Cup captain, has backed Sharapova's single-minded assault on the singles scene, while others have cut to the chase in characteristically straightforward fashion.
As a Russian Tennis Federation source told Reuters last year: "(The other players) are just jealous of Sharapova. They resent her sudden fame and fortune."
What he did not spell out, but everybody recognises, is that Sharapova, who turned professional at 14, is not only very good at tennis, she is also very beautiful - a winner with a winning smile that delivered £10m in off-court earnings last year.
Two years after Anna Kournikova, the first Russo-Floridian tennis starlet with pretensions of sporting AND marketing greatness, gave up on the "hard work" part of that ambition, Sharapova has perfected the blend.
The sacrifices that she has undoubtedly made to reach the top of the tennis tree have all been worth it.
As Sharapova said: "The computer doesn't lie. You have to achieve something to get there.
"It's all been about hard work and dedication and the achievement has been amazing."
Stakhanovite principles such as "hard work" and "dedication" are what separates Sharapova from Kournikova (although her 6ft 2in frame probably helps), but will it ever be enough to endear her to those she left behind?
Having beaten the other eight Russians currently in the top 25 to the number one spot, Sharapova must now convince her compatriots that she is not going to pursue her American dream as far as the likes of naturalised citizens Martina Navratilova and Monica Seles did.
Until she does the girl from Siberia will have to get used to frosty receptions from home.
SIBERIAN STAR, AMERICAN ACE
1987 Born 19 April, Nyagan, Siberia
1991 Starts hitting tennis balls aged four
1993 Spotted at Martina Navratilova exhibition in Moscow
1996 Starts at Nick Bollettieri's academy in Florida
2001 Turns pro on 14th birthday
2003 Wins two WTA events, qualifies for Australian and French Opens, reaches no. 31 in world, signs with IMG Models
2004 Wins five events including Wimbledon, named WTA player of the year, tops money list
2005 Wins three events, reaches number one, named richest female athlete by Forbes Magazine
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Post by Annie on Aug 24, 2005 9:35:15 GMT 3
Poor girl..I really don't envy her...all that at the age of 18....thanks Laney, interesting read
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Post by annie on Aug 25, 2005 13:05:10 GMT 3
thanks Laney...i kinda feel sorry for her...
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Post by alsl on Aug 27, 2005 9:25:42 GMT 3
hmmm...it look like she's going down the same path as Anna K. don't you think? "People seem to forget that Anna isnt in the picture anymore.It's Maria time now."-Maria on comparison to fellow Russian Anna Kournikova |
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Post by iLuV_ARod_&_MaRaT on Aug 27, 2005 10:19:48 GMT 3
so....is it true that Masha is now no.1 in the rankings?.....
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Post by iLuV_ARod_&_MaRaT on Aug 27, 2005 10:22:41 GMT 3
sorry for the stupid question but i've been away in this web.....like 2 months coz of my exams.....just want to know some news.....that's all...
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Post by NoOdLeS on Aug 27, 2005 19:37:10 GMT 3
so....is it true that Masha is now no.1 in the rankings?..... She was.but this morning i think it's back to davenport! |
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Laney
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Post by Laney on Aug 27, 2005 19:47:07 GMT 3
Noodles is right, Maria was n°1 for one week, but Davenport will take over next Monday news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/4190046.stmDavenport victory seals top spot
Lindsay Davenport has regained the world number one spot after beating Anna Chakvetadze in the semi-finals of the New Haven Open in Connecticut.
The 6-3 6-3 victory ensures that the 29-year-old American will return to the top of the rankings next week.
Davenport has been out of action for two months with a back injury and lost top spot to Maria Sharapova on Monday.
She will meet Amelie Mauresmo in the final after the second seed's 4-6 7-6 6-2 win over Anabel Medina Garrigues.
Mauresmo looked to be heading out of the event as she trailed by a set and a break at 4-3 in the second set.
But the Frenchwoman broke back in the eighth game and, after taking the tie-break, she broke twice in the decider to reach her fourth final of the year.
Davenport admitted after her victory that she was more concerned with playing well at next week's US Open than taking the number one spot again.
"I suppose the end of year ranking is more important, and I guess if I win the US Open then I'll be number one," she said.
"Amelie and I played such a close match at Wimbledon, and I'm looking forward to playing her again." |
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Post by iLuV_ARod_&_MaRaT on Aug 30, 2005 12:08:07 GMT 3
Thanx for the article.....
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Post by Annie on Aug 31, 2005 10:13:36 GMT 3
Oh by the way ILUV how did your exams go? Sorry I am off topic LOL
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Post by iLuV_ARod_&_MaRaT on Sept 1, 2005 5:41:45 GMT 3
not good....coz i was about to take my exams when my friend & fellow AR.com member, jeelei called me & said that "ANdy's out of the open"....i was shocked coz i watched the start of the match & he's fine.....but i was wrong.....& now that Andy's out, im expecting Nadal or Safin to win....i dont like screwitt to win....
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Post by Annie on Sept 1, 2005 9:37:50 GMT 3
Ermmmm ILUV sweetie what planet are you living in?  Marat is not playing USO...he withdrew on Sunday coz of his knee  and we have it all over the board!!!! LOL I predict (don't need much to do that) a Nadal-Federer final and Federer winning....I know it's boring but that's life |
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Marat is not playing USO...he withdrew on Sunday coz of his knee 
and we have it all over the board!!!! LOL I predict (don't need much to do that) a Nadal-Federer final and Federer winning....I know it's boring but that's life