No reigning Wimbledon women's champion lost in the first round of the U.S. Open, and Sharapova was just one game from that fate. Then she steeled herself to claim 12 of the last 14 points and got past Laura Granville 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 Tuesday night. "My game went off for a while. I went to La-La Land," the 17-year-old Siberian-turned-Floridian said, "but I came back to Earth." Maria Sharapova nearly found out just how quickly one can go from diva to disaster. "It's all about the spirit," Sharapova said after her 2-hour, 9-minute adventure. "Hanging in there, and trying to do your best."
All the while, the photographers in their courtside pit trained their equipment on the 6-foot Sharapova, who's represented by a modeling agency and recently signed a three-year deal with a cell phone company worth $4 to $5 million. Most of the time, about 40 cameras followed her, and one or two followed Granville. When Sharapova hit her 10th ace, followed by a service winner, to end it, her sunglasses-wearing father jumped and pounded his fist on his chest. She mimicked that gesture, then - just as she did after stunning Serena Williams in Wimbledon's final in July - went to grab her phone to call Mom.
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