By Alex Perry BBC Sport at Wimbledon

Sharapova grunted her way to victory Sharapova v Bovina pictures

Tim Henman may have been in action over on Court One, but as far as the world's press were concerned there was only one match worth watching on Tuesday.

Maria Sharapova, the latest leggy Russian beauty to emerge, was taking on Ashley Harkleroad, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed, All-American babe on Court Two, and there was not a seat to be had in the press box.

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With Anna Kournikova missing, this double-whammy was just too good an opportunity for the journalists and many photographers.

But while the press may be all too aware of the potential of Sharapova and Harkleroad, the Great British public have not quite yet caught on.

As the sultry Sharapova grunted her way to a straight-sets win there were a fair number of empty seats.

Harkleroad also caught the eye

And the crowd's failure to take sides seemed to have less to do with an English sense of fair play and more to do with the fact that most of the spectators did not really know who they were watching.

Doubtless many of the column inches in Wednesday's papers will focus on their looks and matching semi-sheer outfits, but both clearly have the potential to reach the game's upper echelons.

Sharapova's extra power gave her the edge in this match and she will be hard to beat on grass.

But as they climb the rankings, the focus on their looks will bring added pressure.

Right now it seems hard to believe that Kournikova reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 1997 at the age of 16 and once stood as high as number eight in the world rankings.

Her shape is perfect for a model but not for a tennis player Martina Navratilova on Daniela Hantuchova

Whether it is the pressure of having to look good in Enrique Iglesias videos and her permanent position in the limelight it is hard to tell, but Kournikova is now almost a joke figure on the tennis court.

She has clearly not been helped by a run of injuries, but you wonder how long sponsors will want to be associated with a player who has earned a reputation as a loser.

Daniela Hantuchova stands behind Kournikova as the photographers' second favourite, but the already waif-like Slovakian has suffered a dramatic weight loss in recent months.

Her coach Nigel Sears says it is simply a case of burning off more calories than she puts on, but Martina Navratilova was recently moved to say that Hantuchova's shape was "perfect for a model but not for a tennis player".