Kournikova vs Sharapova: A Match Between Tennis Players or Sex Kitten Athletes?

Take that Kournikova! Sharapova Wins Again

"The second-seeded Sharapova won with breaks in the final game of each set, including the only break of the second set, and snapped Clijster's 24-match winning streak in North American summer hard-court events.

The title was Sharapova's first since winning at Indian Wells in March, and the 12th of her career. It was also the first time the Russian defeated Clijsters, a former No. 1, in five matches." -AP

Maria Sharapova is a good tennis player. Obviously, this is not breaking news. But in the era of the Sex Kitten Athlete (i.e. Anna Kournikova and Danika Patrick), the ones that are more likely to win endorsement deals than tournaments, matches or races, it is refreshing to see a female sports star who has the game to back up her pin-up looks. And for my money, Maria Sharapova is better looking than all of them.

I'd like to clarify something about Danika Patrick before I go on. I don't think she's in it for the advertising revenue. She seems to have some genuine enthusiasm for her sport (you can check out my article on her here). But as far as I know, Ms. Kournikova has retired to a life of parties and picture taking, comfortably attached to the elbow of that singer who had his mole removed. That's lame. I knew a guy who was so obsessed with Anna Kournikova during her playing days, and this guy wasn't into competitive tennis (if you know what I mean, winkage). It was complete celebrity worship and it really got me thinking. Was Anna Kournikova's tennis career just a huge scam?

I don't really follow the women's side of the ATP (or the men's for that matter) but it seems that she was rarely competitive, and to the best of my knowledge she never won a professional tournament. Sharapova, on the other hand, has done nothing but find success, and lots of it. A few years ago she won Wimbledon when she was 17, and with 12 titles under belt at the age of 19, she's well on her way to having one hell of a women's tennis career. And, as a guy and an admitted chauvinist pig (not really, but let's go with that), she's smoking hot.