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Maria Sharapova invites Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James to join UN Goodwill Ambassador Team

April 16th, 2008 admin

Maria Sharapova

ARK in Berea: Maria Sharapova, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Goodwill Ambassador, has invited Cleveland Cavaliers Basketball star LeBron James to “Team Up Against Poverty” on a new UNDP advertisement to garner support for achieving the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Joining Environmental Artists David and Renate Jakupca as official Goodwill Ambassadors from Cleveand, Ohio.

“Team Up Against Poverty” - feature celebrities from the world of sports, arts, fashion or business portrayed in teams of two by top professional photographers. Fifty celebrities, including UNDP Goodwill Ambassadors and soccer greats Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane, have agreed to participate in the initiative to promote the MDGs and to undertake specific anti-poverty activities, ranging from supporting educational activities and HIV/AIDS projects to funding water and sanitation initiatives and promoting safe drinking water campaigns.

World-renowned photographer Patrick Demarchelier photographed both stars for this new series of UNDP pro bono advertisements.

“Cleveland on the International Stage” - In 1997, David and Renate Jakupca, Founders of the International Center for Environmental Arts (ICEA) were appointed as Official American Goodwill Cultural Ambassadors to EXPO 2000, the World’s Fair held in Hanover, Germany. As National Co-Directors for the U.S. Network for EXPO2000, the primary purpose was to promote the different aspects of the World’s Fair to non-governmental organizations (NGO) in the United States and share with them new global ideas on the environment, culture and messages of goodwill.

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Where Maria Sharapova really does have the edge over Roger Federer

April 16th, 2008 admin

Maria Sharapova

Like many tennis fans the world over I was glued to my TV catching every single solitary delicious moment of the 2008 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Florida.

This prestigious (and frankly gorgeous) tournament is hailed as the “fifth Grand Slam”, has an annual attendance of around 300,000 spectators and fans, and is one of the few tournaments that lasts a fortnight with both a men’s and women’s main draw.

In addition, it is a Master Series tournament on the ATP tour and a Tier I event for the WTA. In other words, if any tournament can serve as a barometer of sorts for the Grand Slams and any changes that can or should be made, then the SEO is the one to look at.

Then the real reason it was so exciting hit me like a ton of bricks. The men play only three sets at this tournament. No wonder it was so refreshing. No wonder the athleticism and tenacity of the male players went up about ten levels. I was engrossed, I was surprised - and I finally understood why the men burn out so much in this sport.

Tennis is single-handedly the most athletic game in the world. Sorry football and rugby fans, but it is. On top of that, you play without coaching and 99 per cent of the time you’re on your own.

If anything else comes even close in pure athleticism, it has to be basketball and hockey tied in second. In tennis you are constantly using both arms and legs, running, stopping, jumping, dashing, lunging, swinging, smashing, turning and, in some of the women’s cases, dropping into gymnast-inspired splits. It’s an incredibly grueling game no matter how you look at it.

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Could Maria Sharapova be on course for all four Slam titles?

April 16th, 2008 admin

Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova is in great form. The Russian star has been a revelation since last year’s Tour-ending championships where she came back to her best only to fall short in an epic encounter with long-term rival Justine Henin. In Madrid the world No.1 was just too good, but 2008 has been a different story.

Sharapova has had her rivals running scared in the early part of the season. Even the world’s best, such as Henin, the Williams sisters and the Serbian army are struggling to deal with the power and 2008 determination of the Moscow Flyer. Maria won Down Under at the first major of the season in Australia, thrashing her opponents in every round - and nothing has changed since.

She won her first clay-court tournament last week in Amelia Island and the the Russian looks set to give a good account of herself during the European clay-court season, which features the prestigious French Open Championships at Roland Garros.

It’s true to say Sharapova is never at her best on clay, but maybe last week’s victory will give her the confidence which she has needed in recent years to defeat the very best on the surface. She was a semi-finalist in last year’s tournamant, falling to Ana Ivanovic, but this year Sharapova has a new confidence which could see her become the latest Russian to win a Grand Slam.

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Maria Sharapova pulls out of Key Biscayne tournament

March 27th, 2008 admin

Maria Sharapova

KEY BISCAYNE - Two-time Sony Ericsson Open runner-up Maria Sharapova, whose troublesome right shoulder bedeviled her tennis most of the 2007 season, pulled out of the Key Biscayne tournament Saturday after a recurrence of the pain.

Her agent, Max Eisenbud, said the injury is not serious but that Sharapova “is trying to learn her lesson from last year when she didn’t take care of the shoulder as soon as the problem happened.

“She’s going to take a week off and not play any tennis,” Eisenbud said. Sharapova is expected to be fit by the time the U.S. clay court season begins on April 7 and, though she is not signed in to either Amelia Island or Charleston, S.C., she might consider requesting wild cards into one or both tournaments.

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Maria Sharapova withdraws from Miami ATP event

March 27th, 2008 admin

Maria Sharapova

MIAMI — Hours after complaining of fatigue after her first loss of the year, Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova told officials at the WTA and ATP event in Miami that she was withdrawing from the tournament.

The US$3.77 million-event is considered a mandatory event by the WTA, meaning the 20-year-old Russian beauty could face punishment from the tour for skipping the event, which begins next week and runs through April 6.

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Maria Sharapova has what it takes to join the all-time tennis greats

March 27th, 2008 admin

Maria Sharapova

With so many great female tennis players out there, it’s difficult to settle on just who is the greatest of all time. It’s hard to compete with Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf and Zina Garrison. But one woman has the potential to fit in extremely well - hard-hitting Russian Maria Sharapova.

Not many would have expected Sharapova to claim her first Grand Slam when she was only 17, but in only her seventh Grand Slam appearance, she captured the Wimbledon crown - and in stunning fashion.

During her dream run she only dropped two sets, one in the quarter-finals to Ai Sugiyama and again in the semi-finals against Lindsay Davenport. Even though she narrowly squeezed past Davenport 2-6 7-6 6-1, she saved her best tennis for the final where she took on Serena Williams. Most expected Williams to win fairly convincingly but it’s was quit the opposite. Sharapova demolished her more experienced opponent 6-1 6-4.

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Maria Sharapova fades in the sun

March 27th, 2008 admin

Maria Sharapova

VISUALLY it seemed the perfect fit. Another of those guaranteed 350 days of annual sunshine had dawned in California’s Coachella Valley and Maria Sharapova seemed to be verging on the most consistent form of her career after 18 consecutive victories in 2008. Talk was rife of her reclaiming the world No1 ranking and optimism abounded; even her father Yuri had been strolling the tournament grounds with the relaxed air of a tourist.

However, the illusion was shattered as the curse of Indian Wells, which has been so spiteful to Sharapova in the past, struck again, fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova plundering her opponent’s shortcomings to register a final place against top-seeded Ana Ivanovic.

Sharapova was outplayed for much of the two hour 20 minute encounter and fell away disappointingly to a 6-3 5-7 6-2 defeat. Her form was erratic – she committed 20 unforced errors in the first set alone – and ultimately her normally dependable serve gave way to allow the second seed through.

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Maria Sharapova Upsets Scarlett Johansson In HD Hottie Hysteria

March 27th, 2008 admin

Maria Sharapova

Washington, D.C. (March 25, 2008) — Maria Sharapova has upset top seed Scarlett Johansson in the LCD division finals of HDTV ‘Hottie Hysteria’ — TVPredictions.com’s elimination tournament to determine who’s the hottest female in High-Definition TV.

TVPredictions.com is posting a daily reader poll pitting one celebrity babe against another. Readers are being asked to vote on which female looks best in high-def. Then, based on their votes, each winner will move to the next round until only one woman is left standing.

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Maria Sharapova

March 12th, 2008 admin

Name :    Maria Sharapova
Birthdate :     April 19, 1987
Birthplace :     Nyagan, Russia (Siberian Region)
Height :     6′ (1.83 m)
Weight :     130 lbs. (59 kg)
Nationality :     Russia
Plays :     Right-handed
Career Prize Money :     $23,800
Best Known As :     17-year-old singles champion of Wimbledon 2004

Maria Sharapova:

Blonde, leggy, and beautiful. If those are the only adjectives you use to describe Maria Sharapova, then you’re selling the tennis world’s newest star short. While she may compare favorably to Anna Kournikova on the modeling runway, Maria is most dazzling when she steps on the tennis court. Her serve is overpowering, her ground strokes are penetrating, and her will to win is punishing. Maria officially arrived with her 2004 Wimbledon title—and she’s not likely to leave anytime soon