By Art Spander
Special to Newsday
WIMBLEDON, England — Maria Sharapova was starstruck, which tells you how big David Beckham is.
Beckham, pro golfer Ian Poulter and onetime English soccer ace Bobby Charlton were among the Royal Box guests as Wimbledon celebrated its annual sports heroes Saturday.
Copyright © 2014 Newsday. All rights reserved.
By Art Spander
Special to Newsday
WIMBLEDON, England — The big names held serve and their places at the top on Tuesday at Wimbledon, meaning those who prefer their tennis played by the rich and famous never had to hold their breaths. Unlike a year ago.
Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal, both ranked No. 1, scored straight-sets victories in opening matches. So did Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova, who, as the other two, are former Wimbledon champions.
Copyright © 2014 Newsday. All rights reserved.
Email Article By Art Spander
Special to Newsday
WIMBLEDON, England — The sun was shining Saturday, softening the gloom in the wake of that World Cup failure the Times of London called "England's Shame."
Wimbledon begins Monday, and with England's certain departure from the World Cup, tennis will take over the headlines.
Copyright © 2014 Newsday. All rights reserved.
Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Wimbledon Email Article By Art Spander
Special to the Times
She went back to where it all started, to the wall in Sochi. Maria Sharapova, out of boredom really, as a child began smacking a tennis ball while her father played his weekly game a few feet away.
"My career started in Sochi," Sharapova said Wednesday, reviewing her trip home and to the Winter Olympics.
Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
By Art Spander
For the Los Angeles Times
LONDON — The little world of tennis spun out of control Wednesday. Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova took figurative tumbles at Wimbledon far earlier than anyone believed, and others took actual tumbles on lawns apparently too slick for the purpose.
Federer, who advanced to the quarterfinals in his previous 36 Grand Slam tournaments, was knocked out of Wimbledon this time in the second round. And by a 27-year-old Ukrainian ranked 116th, Sergiy Stakhovsky, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (5).
Maria Sharapova, Roger Federer, Wimbledon Email Article