Maria Sharapova ranked third in another top-earners list

Maria SharapovaEvery few weeks Maria Sharapova is included in some top-earners list, and the latest one is Forbes magazine’s annual "20 Under 25" list, which ranks the Top-Earning Young Superstars. The Russian money-making machine came in at a respectable third place after bringing in $23 million from June 2006 – 07.

Here's what Forbes had to say about the 20-year-old tennis star:

"Tennis' 'It' girl struggled with injuries in 2007, winning only one tournament and banking $1.7 million on the court. That's down from five tourney wins and $3.8 million in prize money the previous year. Not to worry, Sharapova's endorsement portfolio is one of the strongest in sports. This year she added Pepsi as a sponsor to an already impressive roster that includes Nike, Canon, Colgate-Palmolive and Motorola."

Why does every sponsor want Maria Sharapova? The secret of Sharapova’s marketing success explains the phenomenon in detail.

Additional info: Yahoo have announced their Top Trends in Search and Maria takes the second spot in the most searched sports terms of the year. (via Down the Line, photo via Siberian Siren)

Sharapova vs. Chakvetadze exhibition in Singapore

It has been confirmed today — Maria Sharapova and Anna Chakvetadze are scheduled to play an exhibition match on December 30 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

The tickets will probably cost from about $150 up to a few thousand dollars!

Sharapova will arrive in Singapore two days prior to the match because of a few public appearances she is supposed to make.

Maria Sharapova shopping in L.A. + Hong Kong sightseeing

Maria Sharapova is busy shopping and traveling, as always.

The Russian was recently spotted buying shoes in Los Angeles, looking fantastic wearing black and gold boots.

Sharapova shoe shopping

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Retrospection of Maria Sharapova's 2007 outfits

Maria Sharapova invests a lot of time in style, always working on being unique and creative. What Masha puts on herself must be fantastic, and Nike has helped her with that.

All of her dresses tell a story or are inspired by some particular thing. Her US Open day and night dresses depicted the New York skyline, while the Wimbledon dress was inspired by a swan.

I decided to make this retrospection because I like all of Sharapova’s outfits since they all greatly differ from one another in style, color, and amazing details. My personal favorite is the US Open red dress, mainly because of the color; but the latest dress, from Madrid, is also fascinating – nice combination of colors, extraordinary model, and unique retro style. On a women's tennis forum, the outfit that got most votes was the one Sharapova wore at Roland Garros. Tell me, which one is your favorite?

WatsonAustralian Open outfit

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Sharapova dominates Chakvetadze to reach Sony Ericsson Championships final

Maria SharapovaWorld No.6 Maria Sharapova defeated Russian compatriot Anna Chakvetadze 6-2 6-2 on Saturday at the Sony Ericsson Championships in Madrid.

World No.7 Chakvetadze started the match well, winning her first service game and even having a break point on Sharapova’s serve. However, Sharapova won the game with a fantastic second serve to even the score to 1-1. Since then, the 20-year-old Sharapova broke her opponent twice and took a 4-1 lead. This vividly demotivated Chakvetadze, and it became clear that the first set was over for her.

The second set was a continuation of a desperate situation for Anna Chakvetadze. Sharapova had an opportunity to break her opponent in the first game of the set! And what happened…Chakvetadze gave away her first service game by foot faulting and then making her second double fault. Chances of Chakvetadze bringing back her mental strength and hope then became minimal.

In this match, Sharapova obviously showed much better tennis than Chakvetadze, but Chakvetadze could have increased her chances only if she had converted some of five break points she had.

Even though she lost this semifinal, Anna Chakvetadze can be very satisfied with what she has achieved, both at the tournament in Madrid and in 2007 season.

Impressive Sharapova defeats Ivanovic at Sony Ericsson Championships

Impressive Sharapova defeats Ivanovic at Sony Ericsson ChampionshipsMaria Sharapova beat Ana Ivanovic 6-1 6-2 Friday at the Sony Ericsson Championships in Madrid. World number four Ivanovic played great, but Sharapova was extraordinary! I have no words to explain the Russian’s performance. She was strong, dominant, energetic, and … perfect, like she was not from this planet. Definitely her best performance in 2007.

Ivanovic was a tough opponent, even though you wouldn’t tell that from the result. I think that the Serb has nothing to regret after this match, she played well, only her serve could have been better. But even if her serve was at a fantastic level, she probably wouldn’t have defeated inspired Sharapova, only the result would have been different.

If Maria Sharapova continues this amazing form, she will take the word “favorite” from world number one Justine Henin at the season-ending Championships.

Anyway, Sharapova will next face Anna Chakvetadze, while Ana Ivanovic will play Justine Henin. (photo via Getty Images)

Sharapova defeats Kuznetsova at Sony Ericsson Championships

Sharapova defeats Kuznetsova at Sony Ericsson ChampionshipsThe 2004 champion Maria Sharapova came from a set down to defeat world No.2 Svetlana Kuznetsova 5-7 6-2 6-2 at the Sony Ericsson Championships in Madrid.

The first set was tight, both the players made one break, but towards the end of the set, when Sharapova served to take the match to a tiebreak, she made two errors, and before you knew it, Kuznetsova won the set on her first set point.

The other two sets were a different story. In the second set Sharapova broke her opponent twice; the first time frustrated Kuznetsova slipped two times in a row and failed to return the ball, while the second time she double-faulted and gave Sharapova the huge lead. In the deciding set, Sharapova was definitely the dominant player. Again she broke Kuznetsova two times, and again Kuznetsova was devastated. The first time Sharapova broke her compatriot without losing a point, while the second time Kuznetsova was leading 40-0 but lost her serve very quickly!

Having lost this match, Svetlana Kuznetsova failed to qualify for one of the semi-final berths at the Sony Ericsson Championships. This means that both Maria Sharapova and first-time qualifier Ana Ivanovic join Justine Henin in the semis. (photo via Getty Images)

Maria Sharapova makes winning start in Madrid

Maria Sharapova beats Daniela Hantuchova in MadridMaria Sharapova defeated Daniela Hantuchova 6-4 7-5 in a thrilling first match of the red group at the Sony Ericsson Championships in Madrid.

The match started with an exchange of breaks. Then, the players held their serves until Sharapova took a 5-4 lead and a chance to serve for the first set, thanks to her brutal string of groundstrokes. Russia's world number six made use of her third set point to win the opening set 6-4.

In the second set Hantuchova won her first service game and then Sharapova handed her three break points with a series of errors. But the Russian didn’t give up, and aided by a few high-quality shots on top of her opponent’s unforced errors, Sharapova held her serve and broke Hantuchova for a 2-1 lead. Later on in the set the Russian had three match points on Hantuchova’s serve, but lost all the chances. Then, Sharapova served for the match, but when she thought she scored a victory on her fourth match point (the first one on her serve), Hantuchova challenged the call and was right! The match was not over yet! Hantuchova evened the result in the second set to 5-5. However, battling Sharapova wanted the victory as soon as possible, broke her opponent right away, and then won the second set 7-5 using her fifth match point.


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