Tennis: Williamses Want Crown Back

Maria Sharapova wafted her arm in a regally dismissive way. No, she did not want to talk about Serena Williams. "That match was a whole year ago. That's past and I really don't want to talk about last year any more."

The 18-year-old reigning Wimbledon champion does dismissive to perfection. Earlier this year in Rome a television reporter thrust a microphone towards her and asked Sharapova to hold it. "No thank you, I am not going to advertise your television company for you," she smiled sweetly but with latent menace.

With projected earnings of $20m this year, Sharapova can afford to be choosy. London may not be paved with gold but every step that the Russian-born, US-raised Sharapova takes at this year's championships will glister with gold, literally.

Her shoes will have 18-carat gold spangly bits on the sides. "It's something totally different and shines unbelievably. Hopefully it will distract my opponents a little bit," Sharapova giggled as she held court at the All England Club yesterday. And the dress?

"A summer dress with orange details, with a pleated skirt. The pleats give it a lot of wave." Not content with out-ranking the Williams sisters, Sharapova is now evidently intent on out-blinging them as well.

Not that Serena Williams is likely to stand meekly aside. She and Sharapova are seeded to meet in the semi-finals, just as they did in Australia earlier this year when Williams won 2-6, 7-5, 8-6 in a monumental encounter of ferocious hitting and then went on to claim her second Australian and seventh grand slam title.

However, since then the American has not won a tournament and she missed the French Open having not recovered from an ankle injury. As is usual, nobody can be sure what sort of form or fitness Serena will bring to Wimbledon, where she may meet her sister Venus in the fourth round a week today - a far cry from those all-Williams finals, both won by Serena, in 2002 and 2003.

The decline of Venus, the 2000 and 2001 Wimbledon champion, has been sharper and, although both sisters continue to insist any defeat is down to them, and never their opponents, this argument wears increasingly thin.

The power hitting that the Williamses instigated has been taken up with relish by a whole host of teenagers who are not the least bit intimidated and are often technically superior as well as fitter. Serena proved against Sharapova in Melbourne that she is still a formidable competitor and not to be underestimated. It remains to be seen whether either she or Venus can reassert herself on what has been their favoured surface.

Belgium's Justine Henin-Hardenne, in the same quarter of the draw as the Williamses, and the same half as Sharapova, is an obvious threat to them all, although she has played no matches since winning the French Open. Indeed, the last ball she hit at Wimbledon was two years ago, losing to Serena in the semi-finals.

Henin reached the 2001 final, her first in a major, when she was 19, losing to Venus Williams. "It seems a very long way away. I can say I've been close to winning Wimbledon but really it was far from that," said Henin, who has since won four grand slam titles, putting her level with Venus. "Venus was too strong. I wasn't powerful enough and my serve wasn't good enough but, if I get there again, it will be different."

Sharapova will remain tough to dethrone, though there is a suggestion that her thigh injury may not have totally mended. If this is true, Henin may take full advantage.