My Favorite Russian

I immediately noticed Russian tennis phenom Maria Sharapova when she first caught the world's attention at Wimbledon in 2004 when she was the ripe age of sweet 17 and I was immediately besotted by her. She carried herself in a fashion that clearly demonstrated courage (she faced two-time defending champion Serena Williams) and maturity (beyond her years)  and strength (all types) and intelligence (outsmarted Serena) and class (which contrasted her with her opponent) and a certain sexual purity and power (she's avoided controversy and notoriety and she certainly is rather easy on the eyes isn't she?). The only thing she managed to accomplish at that time was upset the heavily-favored American juggernaut Serena Williams (whom I've always disliked ~ she's a low-class diva) in the final that year and take the Wimbledon women's crown. She's been a beast ever since (when she's healthy). I understand and respect her patriotism to her motherland, but given its identification with Vladimir Putin, whom I utterly abhor, it places me in a somewhat conflicted place... therefore, I'll stop thinking about it and just ogle her some more in this image above and say a prayer to God of thanks for creating beautiful young women.  Note: some people are simply photogenic and others are not and it has nothing to do with physical beauty or homeliness. In Sharapova's case she's both beautiful and photogenic as the above image of her at last night's Sochi Winter Olympics opening ceremony effectively demonstrates as she looks like a mythical Valkyrie. Image courtesy of AFP/Getty Images (all rights reserved).