MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA -- There is always an easy way to know who is the latest "it" girl in tennis -- check out the photographers.
On the second day of the Australian Open, there were 17 of them at Show Court 2 for the late-afternoon match between Maria Sharapova of Russia and Conchita Martinez Granados of Spain.
At one point during Sharapova's 6-4, 6-3 win, only one long-focal lens was pointed in the direction of the Spaniard. It was easy to figure out who was the centre of attention.
Six feet tall and ranked No. 32 in the world, Sharapova looked stylish in a red outfit that flattered her long legs and accentuated her self-assured air on the court.
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Sharapova, 16 and the tournament's 28th seed, can really belt the ball with either her forehand or two-handed backhand. But she is more than a little reckless -- and that might tell in a possible third-round meeting against compatriot Anastasia Myskina, the sixth seed.
Earlier in the day on Court 6, Canada's last singles hope, Maureen Drake of Toronto, was beaten 2-6, 6-0, 7-5 by German left-hander Anca Barna.
Drake had a match point leading 5-3 in the final set, but missed a groundstroke into the net after a long rally. She never recovered.
In the more grandiose confines of the Rod Laver Arena, the day began with men's No. 2 Roger Federer and women's No. 3 Venus Williams advancing without undue fuss.
Williams, in her first tournament since losing the Wimbledon final last July to sister Serena, won 6-2, 6-1 over fellow American Ashley Harkleroad, 18.
Williams slightly sprained her right ankle and had a patch on her right knee, but after the match was more eager to talk about her five-year-old nephew, Jair Bobbit, the son of her slain older half sister, Yetunde Price. Bobbit and his younger brother are travelling with Williams and her mother, Oracene.
Pictured in a Melbourne newspaper chasing balls during one of Williams's practice sessions, Bobbit's reaction to his media exposure was to declare, "I'm a star."
Aunt Venus wasn't so sure. "I said, 'What did you do to become a star?' It's hard when you're young. You don't understand."
Federer looked good in his first-round, 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 victory over 20-year-old American qualifier Alex Bogomolov Jr., who happens to be Harkleroad's fiancé.
The Wimbledon champion later fielded questions about the influence of his long-time girlfriend and sometimes manager-agent, former Czech player Miroslava Vavrinec, on his career. In a recent newspaper article, 1987 Wimbledon champion Pat Cash criticized her sway over Federer, suggesting she had a role in last month's firing of his coach, Peter Lundgren.
"I don't even know Pat Cash," Federer said. "As long as I don't know him, I can't take it seriously, because he doesn't know me. What he said is definitely not true."
In less than three weeks, Canadian-born British player Greg Rusedski will appear before a tribunal in Montreal regarding his positive test last July for the prohibited drug nandrolone.
Yesterday, the former Montreal resident was beaten 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 by 2002 French Open champion Albert Costa. Rusedski said he had a case of gastroenteritis that had limited his practice.
About the confusion and controversy surrounding Rusedski's positive test, Costa said "the players are all scared. The situation is very bad. There is a lot of support for Greg in the locker room."
Bohdan Ulihrach of the Czech Republic, who had his suspension for a positive nandrolone test revoked last year because he may have received contaminated supplements from the tour's own trainers, backed Rusedski.
"Bohdan said anything he can do for me, he's more than happy to," Rusedski said.
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