Wimbledon Betting / Ralph Ellis / 25 June 2008 /

Ralph Ellis on the challenge facing the favourite at Wimbledon this year

Roger Federer wore a cardigan. Serena Williams came on court in a raincoat. Maria Sharapova was dressed in shorts. Oh yes it's Wimbledon fashion fortnight again! If there was betting on the company to win the marketing prizes in SW19 then Nike would be about [1.02] favourite every year.

It isn't surprising. The simple fact is that their top clothes-horse players will win their opening round matches so easily that the only thing to talk about is what they are wearing - and especially in the case of the real glamour girls like Sharapova. The big strategy decisions aren't about exploiting forehands or backhands, but on how to get the maximum number of pictures of the Nike tick on the back pages.

Sharapova is as short as [1.03] to romp through her second round match tomorrow against Alla Kudryavtseva and only [1.15] to do it in straight sets. Both of those look pretty much guaranteed winning bets. But the bigger question is whether the Russian glamour girl, who turned 21 earlier this year, is worth backing at [3.75] favourite to collect the crown at the end of Wimbledon fortnight.

The Daily Express's veteran tennis expert Nigel Clarke, who has covered the tournament since they were still all amateurs, is clearly entranced.

"She was dressed for the theatre and looked the part to perfection," he writes this morning.

"She paraded her new white tuxedo top to set a new style. It was almost like a first night with the audience waiting for the curtain to go up. The crowd were in early and they wanted to see only one star. Her entrance was typical. Head up, shoulders back, taking in the applause - Sharapova was back and how she loved it."

So no doubt that the 'Queen of Scream' was relishing her role as the big star of the women's game, with £6million career earnings so far to show for it.

But how will she fare when the going gets tougher in the second week and Venus Williams is laying in wait? Oh yes, big Venus. No glamour there, just brutal hitting force that has twice wiped away Sharapova from Wimbledon's courts in five trips to the tournament so far.

Sharapova may have beaten Serena Williams in the final to lift her one title in 2004, but she's never finished ahead the elder sister and won't find it easy to do that this year either. Sharapova took just four games in last year's fourth round clash between them, and didn't fare a lot better in the 2005 semi-final either when she collapsed 6-1 in the second set after losing a first set tie-break.

It's all about power, and while Maria might hit bigger than most of the girls there's a question over whether she is yet strong enough to handle the real awesome power of the older Williams sister. There's also the question of how the shoulder injury which forced her to withdraw from Eastbourne will stand up.

Venus wiped away one Briton - Naomi Cavaday - yesterday and now has Anne Keothavong to warm up her up in the second round. And at [6.8] in the betting for the tournament she looks good value because her big power game is always effective on the grass courts. Sharapova? She might look good in shorts, but [3.75] as favourite for the tournament title is far too short and well worth laying.

Five things you didn't know about Maria Sharapova...

1. Born in Siberia, she left home at the age of nine to go to Nick Bolletieri's academy in Florida.

2. She was only 14 she played her first event on the women's tour.

3. If you're dreaming of taking her out then her favourite dessert is French crepes with nutella, and favourite drink a virgin strawberry daiquiri.

4. She loves reading Sherlock Holmes books.

5. Her home is in California, but she's just bought a penthouse apartment in Israel.

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