Ciao, Anna. Now for some tennis

With the serious business of Anna Kournikova now over, there is now the business of watching some serious tennis.

The fans in Dubai got a glimpse of Anna. The tennis world calls it an exhibition of Anna-Tude.

The fans loved Anna-Tude.

They also loved the way she missed those oh-so simple volleys, the overheads, which seemed to play out in slow-mo, and the way Anna served on court...

...centre court of course.

And when she pouted at the ball boys...

...one poor fellow threw the ball at her, before she got ready to serve missing by miles. Many beautiful women have set foot into the world of tennis. But Anna has without doubt put the best leg forward.

Well before the exploits of Gaby Sabatini, the WTA hosted marquee names like Carling Basset, who married doubles specialist Roberto Seguso (a- never- was-has- been), glamourous Gussie Moran and Suzanne Lenglen who played in women's tennis's version of Jurassic Park.

But no one has quite managed to fire the rich and varied imagination of men like Anna.

And why do the women go to see Anna...oh, never mind.

Chew on these stats: in 2001 she made just $305,409 in prize money. It is, however, believed that she regularly pulls in an excess of $10 million off it.

In 2000, she reaped an embarrassing $640,459 in singles earnings and yet Forbes, in a rare tribute, put her on their Power 100 Fame and Fortune list at No. 58. No other female athlete made the list.

Anna's relationship with the media is as cold as the winters in Siberia. It doesn't matter if she rarely reaches a final on the Tour a post match press-conference will have her spouting inane, cryptic, replies to some very relevant questions. And so sold is she on her own mechanisms of self-absorption that she will follow up her answers with an imperious stare at a fellow colleague.
Call it Anna-mosity.

There is a lot of it in the women's dressing rooms and even on the playing surface when Anna shows up...or doesn't, or says something she means...or doesn't. For Anna it does not matter. Her Anna-risms have affected the rank and file of women's tennis.

Perhaps even top seed Williams can testify to having suffered occasionally from a bout of Venus- envy. The world's No 1 player in waiting signed a $40million deal with Reebok last year.

But deep down in her heart she knows that Anna is a one-woman multinational franchise, who can earn more from a three- minute MTV video with Enrique Iglesias than most players will make from a tennis calendar year.

The name of the track...Escape.

But let us take heart from one simple fact. The most refreshing part about Anna is that her impetuosity, imperiousness, attitude contempt and snobbery is not a facade.

It is the real deal, like Anna. So who needs sporting performance? Sport today also sells on glamour. And the WTA brings with it an embarrassment of riches. But none more valuable than Anna Kournikova.