Russian glamour star for Classic

In the past decade Auckland's top women's tennis tournament has featured multiple Grand Slam winners such as Lindsay Davenport and glamorous superstars such as Anna Kournikova.
The ASB Classic will now host a player on the current women's tour who combines both attributes - Maria Sharapova.
The 23-year-old triple Grand Slam champion from Russia, known also for her film star looks and high on-court decibel level, was confirmed for the tournament on January 3-8.
Sharapova is a former world number one and her 22 singles titles include three Grand Slams - Wimbledon in 2005, the US Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008.
Her photogenic looks, as well as her tennis talent, have also helped her win numerous endorsements, and in 2007 she was named the world's highest paid female athlete by Forbes magazine.
"She's obviously a very good player - you don't win three Grand Slams and 22 titles if you're not - but she's also a very complete person and is obviously a very, very recognisable face in the fashion world as well," tournament director Richard Palmer said yesterday.
"She's a very glamorous person and I think you'll find she's a very well grounded person too."
Sharapova is currently ranked 17th in the world after a couple of tough years due to injury, but she has still won two tournaments and reached three other finals in 13 tournaments in 2010.
Palmer said Sharapova's participation was secured very quickly. "Her agent rang about two weeks ago saying 'Maria wants to come, are you interested'. Well, silly question," Palmer joked.
"From there we've proceeded. Yes, there is an appearance fee, which I won't divulge, but with the total co-operation of ASB we've managed to come to terms which we consider fair and reasonable considering her status."
Palmer expected Sharapova's presence would be a huge boost to ticket sales.
"People all round the world like to see someone who is a genuine superstar or a household name and I think in her case she's not just known tennis-wise, people outside tennis who've got no interest in tennis are interested in her and may well decide that for once in their lives they will come and watch tennis.
"Certainly ticket-wise we're expecting an upsurge in sales."
Sharapova usually plays in an exhibition tournament in Hong Kong in the first week in January, but decided to take a different path this year as she prepares for the Australian Open.
"I actually made a commitment to play Hong Kong in the middle of the year, but as the year went on I started thinking about it and decided I wanted to start the year somewhere else," she said yesterday. "I'd heard incredible things about New Zealand and I've never been ... and I just wanted to change it up a little bit." NZPA