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A Wimbledon champion at 17, Maria Sharapova could soon reach No. 1 at 18. If she wins this week's German Open, Sharapova will move up one spot and overtake Lindsay Davenport to become the first Russian atop the WTA Tour computer rankings since they began in 1975.
"If it works out, it works out," Sharapova said Monday. "If not, I have a lot of years ahead of me."
She is ranked a career-high No. 2, followed by Amelie Mauresmo, Serena Williams and Elena Dementieva. Martina Hingis was the tour's youngest No. 1, getting there in March 1997 at age 16.
None of Sharapova's nine titles has come on clay, but she hopes to use this tournament on that slow surface as a springboard to contending at the French Open, which starts May 23. She reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros last year her best showing at any Grand Slam tournament to that point in her nascent career.
"That gave me a lot of confidence," she said. "But it may have been different if I had more experience on clay."
Sharapova is also ranked on a different sort of list: People magazine selected her as one of the world's 50 most beautiful people.
"I have always followed the voting. It's nice to be one of the most beautiful people," she said. "But when you step on the court, you either notice the people looking at you or you don't. I don't."
She said it has been a dizzying climb since winning Wimbledon 11 months ago.
"Everything's happened so fast," she said. "There's not a lot of time to look back and be excited."
Seeded second in Berlin behind defending champion Mauresmo, Sharapova was given a first-round bye. Her opening match will be against Germany's Anna-Lena Groenefeld, a 6-1, 6-2 winner over Russia's Evgenia Linetskaya on Monday.
The only two seeded players in action Monday were Japan's Ai Sugiyama and Croatia's Karolina Sprem and both lost in the first round. No. 14 Sugiyama was beaten by China's Peng Shuai 7-5, 6-4, while No. 16 Sprem fell to France's Virginie Razzano 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Most of the top players start Tuesday and Wednesday. The field features five top-10 players as well as Belgian stars Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne, who are working their way back from long layoffs.
Henin-Hardenne was sidelined most of last year with a virus and knee injuries. She has come back strong the past two weeks, winning at Charleston, S.C., and Warsaw, Poland.
The Belgian won the German Open in 2003, then went on to take the French Open for her first major title.
"I am lucky to be back on court," Henin-Hardenne said. "I felt like a machine before my illness. You know, I am only 22 and it was a good lesson listen to myself and get a rest."
Clijsters has also made a strong comeback, winning at Indian Wells, Calif., and Key Biscayne, Fla., where she beat Sharapova in the final. But she is wary of how her injured left wrist will hold up during the clay-court season.
"I would rather play the whole year on faster surfaces, but I have no choice," she said. "So I will give it a shot."
In other matches Monday, two-time major champion Mary Pierce eliminated Anna Chakvetadze of Russia 6-4, 6-3. Angela Haynes of the United States lost 6-2, 7-6 (4) to Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic, and another American, Jill Craybas, topped Stephanie Gehrlein of Germany 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
The full name of the event is the Qatar Total German Open. Qatar's tennis organization bought and renamed the tournament, hoping to market tourism.
A Wimbledon champion at 17, Maria Sharapova could soon reach No. 1 at 18. If she wins this week's German Open, Sharapova will move up one spot and overtake Lindsay Davenport to become the first Russian atop the WTA Tour computer rankings since they began in 1975.
"If it works out, it works out," Sharapova said Monday. "If not, I have a lot of years ahead of me."
She is ranked a career-high No. 2, followed by Amelie Mauresmo, Serena Williams and Elena Dementieva. Martina Hingis was the tour's youngest No. 1, getting there in March 1997 at age 16.
None of Sharapova's nine titles has come on clay, but she hopes to use this tournament on that slow surface as a springboard to contending at the French Open, which starts May 23. She reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros last year her best showing at any Grand Slam tournament to that point in her nascent career.
"That gave me a lot of confidence," she said. "But it may have been different if I had more experience on clay."
Sharapova is also ranked on a different sort of list: People magazine selected her as one of the world's 50 most beautiful people.
"I have always followed the voting. It's nice to be one of the most beautiful people," she said. "But when you step on the court, you either notice the people looking at you or you don't. I don't."
She said it has been a dizzying climb since winning Wimbledon 11 months ago.
"Everything's happened so fast," she said. "There's not a lot of time to look back and be excited."
Seeded second in Berlin behind defending champion Mauresmo, Sharapova was given a first-round bye. Her opening match will be against Germany's Anna-Lena Groenefeld, a 6-1, 6-2 winner over Russia's Evgenia Linetskaya on Monday.
The only two seeded players in action Monday were Japan's Ai Sugiyama and Croatia's Karolina Sprem and both lost in the first round. No. 14 Sugiyama was beaten by China's Peng Shuai 7-5, 6-4, while No. 16 Sprem fell to France's Virginie Razzano 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Most of the top players start Tuesday and Wednesday. The field features five top-10 players as well as Belgian stars Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne, who are working their way back from long layoffs.
Henin-Hardenne was sidelined most of last year with a virus and knee injuries. She has come back strong the past two weeks, winning at Charleston, S.C., and Warsaw, Poland.
The Belgian won the German Open in 2003, then went on to take the French Open for her first major title.
"I am lucky to be back on court," Henin-Hardenne said. "I felt like a machine before my illness. You know, I am only 22 and it was a good lesson listen to myself and get a rest."
Clijsters has also made a strong comeback, winning at Indian Wells, Calif., and Key Biscayne, Fla., where she beat Sharapova in the final. But she is wary of how her injured left wrist will hold up during the clay-court season.
"I would rather play the whole year on faster surfaces, but I have no choice," she said. "So I will give it a shot."
In other matches Monday, two-time major champion Mary Pierce eliminated Anna Chakvetadze of Russia 6-4, 6-3. Angela Haynes of the United States lost 6-2, 7-6 (4) to Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic, and another American, Jill Craybas, topped Stephanie Gehrlein of Germany 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
The full name of the event is the Qatar Total German Open. Qatar's tennis organization bought and renamed the tournament, hoping to market tourism.
