WOMENMaria SharapovaMaria Sharapova is still being protected by the WTA because of her age. She turned 16 in April and for the next two years is limited as to the number of tournaments she can play.

A wild-card entry this year, the Russian was taken to the US at six years of age and discovered by the Nick Bollettieri tennis factory. She has already beaten the world number 15, Elena Dementieva, and captivated photographers around the world. A good mover with a powerful double-fisted backhand, Sharapova is already being shielded from the limelight by her father and coach. And like Ashley Harkleroad and Daniela Hantuchova she too has been hailed as the new Anna Kournikova. Last week in Birmingham a tabloid photographer was removed from the grounds for taking "inappropriate pictures". Will it ever end?

Daniela Hantuchova

Daniela Hantuchova will be questioned about the rumours surrounding her lightweight, catwalk physique and whether it is the ideal for competitive tennis, but last year the Slovakian made a run to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon before falling to the eventual winner and world number one, Serena Williams. She also played her way to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open this year. Although she went out at the French Open to the unseeded Ashley Harkleroad of the US in the second round, Hantuchova has a strong serve and can take the pace out of the ball as well as make angles. She is also strong on both sides and has had the experience of fighting her way to the second week of Slam events. That is called giving yourself a chance.

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Roger Federer

The understated character and low profile of Switzerland's Roger Federer tends to keep him off the main leads in tennis reports. Colour writers leave him well alone. But at Wimbledon two years ago Federer defeated seven-time champion Pete Sampras in a dramatic five-set contest and halted the American's 31-match winning streak. A former junior world champion, Federer has a thunderous forehand and well balanced all-round game. This season has been the best of his young career - the 22-year-old has won tournaments in Marseilles, Munich and Dubai, though he did suffer a shock first-round exit in the French Open. But that has given him an appetite for greater things and on slow grass courts his ability is up to it.

David Nalbandian

Alright, so he made it through to the final last year on his Wimbledon debut. But since then few people outside South America have heard of David Nalbandian. Few are even able to remember what player it was that Australian Lleyton Hewitt beat to win the 2002 championship. But Nalbandian is, with Guillermo Coria, one of the two most talented players to come out of Argentina in recent years and, like most young players now, he plays a modern game that can be adapted to most surfaces. He is also a highly competitive opponent who was not listed in the ATP Tour guide in 2000 but now carries Argentine hopes. And as he showed last year, freedom from inhibition when combined with real confidence is genuine currency in Grand Slam events.