Artistic Anna makes another Open statement

Artistic Anna makes another Open statement

MELBOURNE, JAN 15: Anna Kournikova struck the first blow in the Australian Open's fashion war here on Monday, unveiling her latest body-hugging outfit as she moved smoothly into the second round.

After cruising through her first set on court No 1 against an Australian Open debutant, the Russian teenager suffered one of her habitual lapses in concentration and quickly found herself in trouble but she pulled herself together in time to eliminate Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova.

Kournikova revealed that she had a hand in designing the new outfit, provided for her by sportswear giant Adidas.

``I've always liked fashion and I've always been artistic,'' she said. ``I've got a great relationship with Adidas -- they've always asked my opinion and listened to me.

``I've worn this style of outfit before but the colours are new.''

Kournikova's model looks mean it is not only the outfits that the spectators get to see that keep the dollars rolling in.

She has also signed multi-million dollar deals to promote Berlei sports bras (marketed under the slogan Only the balls should bounce), Omega watches and Pegaso mobile phones.

The extent of Kournikova's off-court earnings is the subject of wildly varying estimates but she is widely believed to rake in more from endorsements that any other female athlete on the planet.

Kournikova's main rivals in the fashion stakes -- the Williams sisters, Martina Hingis and Mary Pierce -- are all in the other, much stronger half of the draw.

That gives her a great chance of at least matching her best Grand Slam performance to date, a semi-final appearance at Wimbledon in 1997.

Kournikova's best showing since then came in last month'stour championships in new york, where she lost out in a tight semi-final to World No 1 Hingis.

Her form so far this year however has been indifferent. After reaching the final of the new year exhibition tournament in Hong Kong, where she lost to Jelena Dokic, she crashed out of last week's warm-up tournament in Sydney in the second round.

The start of the year has also seen her back in the gossip columns with confirmation of a bust-up with former doubles partner Hingis, who is playing here with Monica Seles.

Kournikova's glamorous image may have played a role in the tryst, which was reportedly sparked by Hingis's jealousy at being outshone by a player who has enjoyed only a fraction of her success.