The world's most high-profile sportswoman paid tribute to father Yuri, who famously was side-by-side with her when they left their Russian home for Florida to build the platform for what has become a lucrative franchise and a Grand Slam winning career.

"Both my mom and dad sacrificed so much and I'm very lucky because he probably loves me more than anyone else in the world," said the 20-year-old.

"He's a character but unfortunately you only get to see him when I'm playing tennis and he's in the stands.

"By himself, he'd make a really good reality show. That's one of the things I have proposed to him once my career is over. He's a really hilarious guy.

"When I'm playing badly, he's like: 'Are you kidding me?' That was not Maria. It's your sister. Bring her back."

Sharapova, the 2004 Wimbledon champion, opened her 2007 campaign on Tuesday with a 6-1, 7-5 win over Taiwan's Chan Yung-Jan.

But such is the global appeal of the Russian pin-up that she spends more time in her post-match news conferences discussing her family loyalties and fashion sense than she does her game. Tuesday was no exception.

The topic of the day was not her serve or forehand, but her choice of dress, all white, as All England Club tradition demands, and based on a swan.

"I wanted it to have more pleats in the back and the end result made it look like a swan," explained Sharapova to her mostly-male audience.

"On a hanger, it doesn't look as swan-ish as it does on me. I just put a reference to it because a swan is usually white, right, unless it's weird."