I suppose the defining image from the 2004 event will be Maria Sharapova. And why not? Her attitude to her matches and the sport in general is superb. She is one heck of a competitor. Her last 3 matches could all have been losses, but Sugiyama, Davenport and Serena all succumbed to her intensity.<br /><br />Now, I thought the rule of thumb money-wise was: what a player earnt on the court, they could expect to double in endorsements. So it’s interesting to see the papers this morning talk about Sharapova’s potential earnings. On Sunday it was �50 million. Today it’s �100m, according to Metro. Now that’s fast. On Saturday, she won just over �500k, taking her career earnings on the court to about �800k. I know she has the talent to win multiple slams, but even Serena has only earnt about �7m in prize money.<br /><br />Elsewhere, Federer was superb. I have no idea how good he can be, but right now he has taken tennis to another level. Amazingly, it’s not by hitting the ball harder than the rest – he hardly broke into the top 30 fastest servers at Wimbledon. It’s his movement, spin and shot selection. Wonderful.<br /><br />Look out for the two finalists from the boy’s event. Gael Monfils is on for the boy’s grandslam, and should make the big time. And the British Miles Kasiri is a hope for the future once Tim retires.<br /><br />Todd Woodbridge won his 9th doubles title, which is a record that should last a few decades at least. Brilliant achievement. <br /><br />Other things that stand out:<br />- Mario Ancic is going to be a threat from now on. He should have a good indoor season later in the year.<br />- Martina Navratilova getting to the 2nd round was an excellent effort. She should keep going.<br />- Sprem vs Venus was a big story. Venus lost, but the most incompetent umpiring of all time will be the legacy of that match.<br />- Goodbye Goran. A fine swansong. He got to say farewell on Centre Court, and lost to Hewitt, which is no disgrace.<br />- Talking of Hewitt, he will be a huge threat to the top guys at the US Open. Actually, he IS one of the top guys again.<br />- Good to see Moya and Coria giving the grass a go. Too many claycourters don’t bother.<br />- In all the hoo-ha about Tim, Greg Rusedski dipped under the radar. Unless he can improve his ranking fast, his career could peter out into total obscurity. His loss to Schuttler was a good effort, but he needed a run to the second week to get himself back. For a player who got the US Open final and has a huge serve, one Wimbledon 1/4 final in a career is pretty small beer.<br />- Mauresmo I have mentioned before, but she is overdue a slam so much it must hurt.<br />- If it is Davenport’s last time, she has had a great career – 3 slams, several finals, and lots of respect.<br />and lastly<br />- Let’s hope Agassi does come back in 2005. The tournament missed him.
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