Tennis / Mariamania hits Israel ahead of Fed Cup tie vs. Russia

For anyone who may have forgotten, or perhaps didn't even notice, the official name of the event that took place yesterday at a hotel in Herzliya was "press conference of the Russian Fed Cup team." But if anyone needed further proof of the quality of the team that Israel will face on Saturday in the competition's quarterfinal, they got it yesterday morning.

For over 10 minutes, the three tennis players and their captain, Shamil Tarpishchev, waited outside the hall. When they got their cue, they walked in, sat down and started waiting all over again. It took another five minutes before "she" walked in - the one and only Maria Sharapova.

She smiled, didn't apologize for her tardiness and sat down in the center of the podium. Behind her, her personal bodyguard glowered in the direction of the assembled members of the press. Maria had arrived; let the proceedings begin.

Since arriving in Israel on Monday, Sharapova has had little time to savor her Australian Open victory. The Russian traveled to Israel to make her debut in the Fed Cup just days after beating Ana Ivanovic in Melbourne for her third Grand Slam title.

"I want to be No. 1 again," the fifth-ranked Sharapova said. "I want to win Grand Slams."

Sharapova, making her first visit to Israel, leads a powerful defending champion Russian team that includes seventh-ranked Anna Chakvetadze, No. 16 Dinara Safina and Elena Vesnina. The Israeli team for the weekend's best-of-five series consists of Shahar Peer, Tzipi Obziler, Keren Shlomo and Julia Glushko. Peer is Israel's highest ranked player at No. 17.

"I think all of us here look forward to that challenge," Sharapova said, seated alongside Chakvetadze.

Sharapova said she wouldn't have time for sightseeing, focusing instead on practicing for the matches. She was asked by local reporters if she had a boyfriend, and she sheepishly declined to answer. "I don't want to talk about my personal life," she said. "But I do have a dog, named Dolce."