PARIS -- Suddenly here's Maria Sharapova, veritable supermodel, billboard babe and paparazzi magnet, only one French Open title away from a perpetual perch in the Court-King-Evert-Navratilova-Graf-Serena Williams clouds.

Win this French Open, which she begins today against fellow Russian Evgeniya Rodina, and there will be one Siberian-born Floridian joining those names with all the proof of moxie that a rare achievement bestows.

Roger Federer (born August 8, 1981) is ranked World No. 1 since February 2, 2004, for a record 225 consecutive weeks. Many tennis critics, past legends of the game, and his own peers consider him as having the potential to be the greatest player in history. In 2008, he was named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for a record fourth consecutive time.