Million dollars babies set to sizzle

Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic will be the star attractions at the Wimbledon Championships this year

LONDON: With their supermodel looks and superpowered tennis, Ana Ivanovic and Maria Sharapova are braced for a multi-million dollar battle of the babes at Wimbledon.  Ivanovic, who deposed Sharapova as world No.1 after her breakthrough French Open triumph, has earned just over five million dollars in her career so far, a figure dwarfed by the Russian’s $12 million.

But a victory here on July 5 will surely boost the army of corporate callers desperate for an endorsement from the 20-year-old Serbian with the girl-next-door charm. When Sharapova won Wimbledon as a 17-year-old in 2004, her bank account swelled virtually overnight and, with an estimated 23 million dollars in off-court earnings alone, she is comfortably the world’s richest sportswoman.

A Sharapova-Ivanovic final would be a heaven-sent opportunity for the women’s tour to step out of the shadow of a men’s circuit driven at breakneck speed by the rivalry of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Such a final would also provide a fascinating contrast in personalities between Ivanovic, with her permanently sunny optimism, and Sharapova’s steely determination.  Both have an ingrained competitive streak forged from the harshness of their childhoods.

Sharapova famously left her mother behind in Russia to make the grade in Florida while Ivanovic practised tennis in an abandoned swimming pool during lulls in the NATO bombing of Belgrade before leaving for Germany.

“It makes you stronger,” said the Serbian who was a semifinalist here last year.  Sharapova, who beat Ivanovic in the Australian Open final in January for her third Grand Slam title, has not returned to a Wimbledon final since her 2004 triumph over Serena Williams.  She was a semifinalist in 2005 and 2006 and a fourth round loser to eventual champion Venus Williams last year.

The Russian comes into Wimbledon on the back of another French Open disappointment where she squandered a match point before losing to compatriot Dinara Safina in the fourth round.