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Fans hold up signs on Centre Court during the match between Roger Federer of Switzerland and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain at the Wimbledon tennis championships, in London June 24, 2009.

The catwalk came to Centre Court today, as Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams and Roger Federer dusted off their tennis best and unveiled a brand new image for the 2009 Grand Slam. 

Russian Sharapova led the way, entering the court for her match against Ukranian qualifier Viktoriya Kutuzova wearing an all-white majorette outfit. 

The 22-year-old world number 60 sported a high-necked jacket with gold buckle belt, which she unbuttoned to whistles to reveal a full-skirted mini dress.

Military must have been the buzzword of the season among the tennis elite, as Switzerland's Roger Federer also brought his own brand of utility chic to the tournament. 

The five-times Wimbledon champion wore a white combat jacket bearing a gold RF crest, trimmed with multiple pockets and gold Nike swoosh.

With his gold-panelled leather bag, it was all very hip hop, a look more associated with the likes of P Diddy than this serious Swiss smasher.

Nonetheless, Federer's new look seemed to please the crowd, who roared as he appeared. 

Giving the crowd a wave and a smile, he unzipped his jacket to a chorus of cheers and catcalls, earning himself yet more whistles of approval for his gold trimmed polo shirt and shorts. 

'It's kind of a little bit more modern - a bit more military this time, but obviously staying true to Wimbledon with the white colors,' Federer said of his new look. 'I hope people like it.'

Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic, Maria Sharapova, Robin Soderling and Fernando Verdasco are all through to the second round.

Maria Sharapova took on another challenge – editing ESPN The Magazine’s third-annual Revenge of the Jocks issue. In the current issue of The Mag, on newsstands today, Sharapova details how she would fix women’s tennis, and shows readers what she did while rehabbing her shoulder for eight months. In addition, she dispenses life advice to fellow jocks, and gives a NFL-caliber makeover to rookie QB Matthew Stafford.

Sharapova on fixing the sport of tennis:

Send in the clowns 
When I go to sporting events, I enjoy the entertainment that surrounds the game. Tennis fans never get that experience. Tournament organizers need to play music or invite dancers and clowns onto the court during side changes. It's too quiet during those breaks.


Don't let the dogs in 
Everyone knows I love dogs (I have a Pomeranian named Dolce), but the players' lounge is not a vet's office. Players carry around their dogs in little bags and let them run all over the place. They put bowls of water on the floor, and it spills everywhere. It's a tournament -- leave the pooch at home.



Get rid of the riffraff 
And while I'm on the subject: The players' lounge isn't a nightclub, either. It's hard to get ready for a match when there's a bleached-out blonde in six-inch stilettos and a denim miniskirt hanging out. Who is this person, and why is she here?


Quit while we're ahead 
The WTA schedule is too long. We start in January and go full speed all the way through to the U.S. Open in September. Then we have to keep going until the Sony Ericsson Championships at the end of October. I'd end the season with the Open.



Plug in and plug us 
I would use the Internet, Facebook and Twitter more effectively to market our sport, and I would make all the athletes participate. Raising the popularity of individual players raises the popularity of tennis.


Give on-court coaches the boot 
I would ban all contact with coaches between sets. I'm sure when the male players see coaches walk onto the court during our matches they laugh.



Accept a good challenge 
Now a player is allowed three unsuccessful challenges per set. Obviously, a player shouldn't be allowed to challenge every call, but if she is out of challenges and the umpire appears unsure, why shouldn't she be allowed to ask for a replay?


Don't hide the game face 
While I was sidelined with my shoulder injury, I watched a lot of tennis on TV. Sometimes I thought, Why do these girls wear so much makeup? I can't even figure out how they keep their eyeliner from running. Athletes should play au naturel.



Ignore the pain 
Limit on-court injury timeouts to two per season. I've asked for a trainer twice in my career, but I've played against girls who call for an injury timeout in every match. They're just buying time; it's laughable. 


Colorize Wimbledon
Once every two or three years, Wimbledon should let us wear something besides white. It would add a spark of fun to a very traditional place. Of course, style has its limits, so I would also…



…Recruit fashion police 
In my tennis, a board would approve all outfits before players could wear them on the court. There are some tacky outfits out there!

Throw a surprise party 
I'd create a tournament in which you wouldn't know whom you were playing or on what surface until the start of each round. You might get the first round on grass, the second on clay and the third on hard court. This is unrealistic, but it would be interesting.

Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal gestures during a news conference at Wimbledon in London June 19, 2009. Nadal pulled out of Wimbledon on Friday after losing his battle to recover from a knee injury.

Andy Murray

Roger Federer

Novak Djokovic

Maria Sharapova

Ana Ivanovic

Spain's Fernando Verdasco (L) and Juan Carlos Ferraro (R)

Wimbledon starts this Monday June 22!

RUSTENBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - JUNE 21

The previously struggling Americans defeated Egypt, 3-0, and, against long odds, advanced to the semifinals of the eight-team tournament. They will play Spain, the European champion, on Wednesday.

Miss World contestants pose for photographers at Ellis Park stadium in Johannesburg on November 20, 2008. From left: Miss New Zealand Julia Kahurangi, Miss Egypt Sanaa Ismail Hamed, Miss Brazil, Sila Almeida Tamara, Miss World Zilin Zhang, Miss South Africa Tansey Coetzee, Miss Italy Claudia Russo, Miss USA Mercia Lane Lindell and Miss Spain Patricia Yurena Rodriguez Alonjo. The contestants will assist in the Confederations Cup draw on the November 22, 2008.

Egypt shocked Italy 1-0 on Thursday as the world champions cracked under pressure to leave their Confederations Cup fate in limbo.

Mohamed Homos was their hero with his 40th minute header enough to hand them a famous victory in front of 51,000 fans, but they also had goalkeeper Essam al-Hadary to thank for pulling off a string of fine saves.

Egypt and Italy are now level on three points in Group B with the Pharoahs favourites to go through to the semi-finals.

They face the United States on Sunday while Italy must play Brazil, who have two wins out of two so far.

Egypt coach Hassan Shehata said before the game that African pride was at stake and his team was bubbling with confidence after pushing Brazil hard in their gallant 4-3 defeat on Monday.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 17: Maria Sharapova, international tennis star and global brand ambassador for Sony Ericsson poses with the winning design at Liberty store as she unveils winning designs from students at the London College of Fashion on June 17, 2009 in London, England.

Source: ONE Sport

Portuguese tennis player, Michelle Larcher de Brito is causing quite a stir on the court as the noise she emits when hitting the ball can sometimes be heard up to three courts away.

Her decibel level has not been officially recorded, but she was so loud during her third round clash against opponent Aravane Rezai at the French Open in May that Rezia complained to the umpire.

The sound of women's tennis stars like that of Maria Sharapova, the Williams' sisters and Elena Dementieva is nothing new - in fact the trend started with former World number one Monia Seles whose grunts were reported to have reached 93 decibels.

But as the start of Wimbledon gets closer - tennis officials are now looking at grinding the grunting to a halt.

Officials can already award a point against grunters if they are deemed to have hindered an opponent's performance, but before they can officially ban the noise as part of their code of conduct, they must first decide if it is a natural reaction to hitting the ball with force or if it is done to purposely put an opponent off their game.

It is believed for some players, grunting is an integral part of their game.

"The timing of when they actually grunt helps them with the rhythm of how they're hitting and how they're pacing things," sports psychologist Louise Deeley told The Guardian in 2005.

 "It may be that their perception is that if they grunt, they are hitting it harder. It's going to give you confidence and a sense of being in control of your game."

What has drawn attention to Larcher de Britio, and a call for a review of the style of play, though is not only the volume of her shrieks, but also their persistence.

"This is the main issue in her case and makes her different from those who have made noise before." Bill Babcock, Grand Slam director at the ITF said.

"The noise extends into the hitting preparation time of her opponent, and that creates problems.

But Larcher disagrees.

"I don't think it would be fair if you're not allowed to shriek or scream or grunt.

"It's part of the game," Larcher de Brito is quoted as saying in The Daily Telegraph (UK).

What is interesting is that de Brito is coached at Florida's Nick Bollettieri academy, which not only produced former French Open champion Seles, but also Sharapova - currently the loudest grunter of them.

Sharapova's screams have been recorded at an incredible 101 decibels - just eight decibels less than a lions roar and akin to the volume of a small aircraft taking flight.

But renowned coach Bollettieri insists he does not encourage his players to make noise, because of the effect it can have on their opponents - but does believe it is time for a change.

Optimistic.

By Paul Haven

MADRID — Unprecedented spending on Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka has Real Madrid's opponents grumbling the team is trying to buy a championship, economists warning of ruin and complaints that the club's US$223 million moves this week are an insult to people in a country suffering severe financial hardship.

The club says high-cost players are the price of greatness and claims it will get the investment back and then some when television and marketing deals are factored in.

The deals - $92 million paid to AC Milan for Kaka and a stratospheric $131 million promised to Manchester United for Ronaldo - were the first moves made by Real Madrid's new president Florentino Perez.

Perez made a name for himself with similarly eye-popping transfers during a previous stint as head of the club earlier this decade, including tens of millions of dollars for "Galacticos" David Beckham and Zinedine Zidane.

"Many believe that the amounts of money being spent on soccer are so disproportionate as to be unjustifiable in these moments of economic crisis when millions of people are out of work," the paper said. "A great team cannot be built with a (cheque) book."

"What is more obscene, buying the two greatest players in the world whose presence is going to bring the team a lot of money in return, or spending a similar amount on mediocre players who add nothing, which is what Real Madrid has done over the past few years?" Segurola said.

"We are spending the money because it is worth it. We are spending it because we will make this money back, and make it back with interest," Valdano said. "Signing these types of players means that our sponsorship, television and sportswear contracts will rise spectacularly."

Roger Federer collected his first Roland Garros title on June 7 to complete a career Grand Slam and equal Pete Sampras’ all-time Grand Slam titles mark of 14. The Swiss superstar finds himself a Wimbledon title away from regaining No. 1, depending on Nadal’s result.

Federer went into Roland Garros 4,490 points behind the Spaniard but after winning the title, he cut the margin to 2,070 points on 8 June. Both players withdrew from grass court tournaments in preparation for Wimbledon and will lose 450 points from their respective 2008 titles won in Halle (Federer) and Queen’s (Nadal).

If Federer wins his sixth Wimbledon title and Nadal loses before the semi-finals, then the Swiss will regain No. 1 on July 6. World No. 3 Andy Murray could go to No. 2 by winning Wimbledon but no higher. Even if Murray wins Queen’s his points total won’t change as it would replace the 250 that he won at Doha in January. His 0-point penalty from Indianapolis stays on for 12 months and will drop on July 20.

By Jim White

He happened upon Maria Sharapova warming up on a side court. And while she was smacking the ball with her usual broad-shouldered venom, something seemed to be missing. 

It was only when he saw her in action later that he realised what it was: she practises in silence and the trademark squealing is only unleashed once an opponent heaves into view. 
 
Which rather confirms the opinion of those like Martina Navratilova, who reckon the grunt is wholly the product of gamesmanship, emitted to disguise the noise of ball on racket, a sound which gives a rival clue to how much spin has been applied.

In fact de Brito has taken it to a new decibel level. She emits an extraordinary banshee scream, a high-pitched burglar alarm of a wail that continues from the moment she hits the ball until it strikes her opponent's racket. 

On court, it really does sound as if she is doing an impression of a Formula One car screeching round Silverstone. 

If the pair meet in SW19, the All England Club had better brace itself for complaints about the noise from as far away as Dorking. 

And, unless they wish to face a crippling group action from spectators deafened by the ridiculous squawking, they should be ready to issue ear plugs as a matter of course.

Roger Federer, understandably drained after his emotional French Open victory Sunday, pulled out of the Wimbledon tuneup tournament in Halle, Germany. He will head straight to London next week without any grass events -- as will top-ranked Rafael Nadal, who is resting his sore knees in the hopes he can defend his Wimbledon title.

''I sincerely apologize to the tournament organizers, my competitors and my fans in Germany,'' Federer said in a statement. ``I only hope they will understand that I still feel emotionally overwhelmed and exhausted by the incredible events of the past few days. It is hard for me to admit, but I simply cannot imagine giving my best effort in another tournament right away and I don't want to risk injury if I am not 100 percent prepared.''