Officials have rejected Maria Sharapova's request to carry the Russian flag at the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony.

"She wanted to be a flag-bearer (on August 8) but I advised against it," Russian tennis chief Shamil Tarpishchev told reporters on Wednesday.

"I don't want her to spend three or four hours in hot weather waiting to march in the opening ceremony. We want her to be fresh, not tired, during her matches."

QUESTION
One down, six more to go?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:
You could look at it that way, yeah.

QUESTION
Feel comfortable out there?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:
Yeah, it was definitely a good start, considering I didn't have a warmup tournament like I usually do. My main goal is just to go out there, get a feel for it as fast as I could and get the job done.

QUESTION
Quite an eye catching outfit.

MARIA SHARAPOVA:
Thank you.

Maria is throught to the second round at Wimbledon
after she defeated qualifier Stephanie Foretz of France.  Maria won 6-1 6-4 in 1 hour and 15 minutes.

The 2004 winner and third seed, playing her first competitive match on grass this year, took full advantage of some error-strewn hitting from Foretz who is ranked outside the top 100.

Maria came onto court 1 sporting traditional shorts and vest for a tuxedo look which was topped off with a jacket.  This is the 1st time Maria has worn shorts in a Grand Slam.Maria wrapped up the 1st set 6-1 in just 26 minutes of play.  Maria had a total of 9 winners to 3 unforced errors in a dominant set.

Maria Sharapova will start this years Wimbledon tomorrow, when she will face Stephanie Fortz from France in the first round on court 1. She will be on the second match after Richard Gasquet and Mardy Fish play their match.
This is the first time that Maria will play the number 105 in the world.

Good luck Maria!

Tennis superstar Maria Sharapova is ready to set a new style statement at this year's Wimbledon.

The 21-year-old tennis sensation will give up her frills for shorts at this year's Grand Slam.
"Believe it or not, I'm going to be wearing men's shorts," the Daily Express quoted her as saying

"I'm going to be debuting a new look. Call it menswear. It is kind of a tuxedo look, very simple lines, classic," she added.