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Maria Sharapova

With a million-dollar designer suit draped over his body, Roger Federer put Zurich on the map as one of People Magazine’s Best Dressed Cities. But he still doesn’t touch Maria Sharapova and her classy wardrobe. Recently, the Russian became the first player to grace the cover of Teen Vogue.

Bethanie Mattek

Innovative is good and being creative matters, but in the end it just doesn’t quite work for Bethanie (soccer socks one tournament, silky shirt the next) Mattek. The American tries...too hard. From discount-store tube socks to faded straw hats to day-glow pink headbands, the Minnesota native and now Indian Wells resident could use a straightforward clothing contract. Then, come to think of it, that would be totally boring.

Rafael Nadal

The Spaniard goes sideline to sideline like a lion chasing down a wounded zebra. He digs in, slides smoothly and he keeps his muscular legs churning. On clay, it’s almost impossible to hit through him, much less around him. Rafa’s defense has been so impenetrable on dirt that he’s even induced the icy cool Fed to sweat. He never seems to tire. Who’s happier after digging out 25 balls in a row than the joyful Nadal?

Mirjana Lucic

The flat-faced, stony-eyed girl is gone, replaced by a more refined and cheery woman with slightly more refined strokes.

Mirjana Lucic, whom Steffi Graf once called a surefire top 5 player, won her first main-draw match since ‘02 when she bested Lindsey Nelson 6-4, 7-6(5) in the first round of the Pacific Life Open.

It was party time for a woman who has gone to hell and back.

“Today I feel like I won a Grand Slam,” said Lucic, who received a wild card. “I won a qualifying match in Memphis [two weeks ago] after not playing for three years and eight months. Every win is absolutely huge for me.”

That it should be. Lucic — who won her first pro title at 15 in her native Croatia in Bol and became part of the youngest duo to win a Slam doubles title when she and Martina Hingis won the Australian Open doubles crown in ‘98 — is yet another sad story of a child prodigy who was nearly destroyed by a maniacal parent.

Lucic claims her father, Marinko, beat her from the time she was five and didn’t stop until she, her mother, Ana, and her four siblings fled his clutches and Croatia in 1998. She has filed a lawsuit against her former agents at IMG, claiming that they were in cahoots with Marinko to ruin her financially. She’s basically been broke since ‘02, and IMG has been trying to evict her and her family from their house at the Nick Bollettieri Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

 How she maintained her love for the sport is befuddling.

“I cried more days and nights than you can imagine,” she said. “I got through it with my mother and brothers and sisters. They tried to keep me busy during the French Opens and Wimbledons. They tried to keep me away from TV. I’m a lucky girl.”

Maybe she is and maybe she isn’t. She just turned 25 and has lost a good four years of her career. She still believes she can be an impact player, but few players have come back from that long off due to trauma and had much success, save for Monica Seles and Jennifer Capriati, both of whom were much more developed players than Lucic was when she took her hiatus. She hopes to play for another seven years.

“If I end up in seven years winning Grand Slams and playing great, it will be a great career,” said Lucic, who reached the Wimbledon semifinals in ‘99. “We can’t pick and choose. We all have our crosses to carry. My career started tremendous, but then I got into these unfortunate situations, but it made me grow stronger.”

Lucic didn’t completely disappear after her breakout years from ‘97 to ‘99, but really sputtered on court, gaining weight, getting down on herself and rarely winning main-draw matches. After running out of money in ‘02, she stopped competing, but still continued to train with her brothers and attempted to work through her emotional chaos. She told the Daily News’ Wayne Coffey that she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

“It was really difficult not playing because I adore tennis,” she said. “It was so hard to watch it on TV and not be able to play because I love the game. I was a little kid and had too many problems. In my head I never really left. I was training seriously, trying to find my way. I wanted to be back much sooner than now, but it wasn’t possible. I’ve had a lot of financial trouble, so I couldn’t hire a coach. Now I grew up. I’m an adult. I take it easy and now I know what I’m doing.”

Many traumatized kids who were pushed into athletics ended up resenting the discipline, especially when an allegedly abusive parent forced it on them. But not Lucic, who still gets a kick whacking her sidewinder groundies in between the lines.

“I never hated the sport,” she said. “ I hated what happened to me. I thought it was unfair, but that’s normal for a young girl to think. There are worse things than being off tour for a few years. It’s terrible, and I was in more pain than anyone can imagine, but being [off tour] is nothing compared to what I’ve been through in my life. I try to look at everything positively.”

Gavin Rossdale and

Gwen Stefani

This famous rocker couple likes its yellowball. The former frontman for Bush, Rossdale was a competitive junior and has attended a number of Slams. “He’s a maniac. He plays, like, three hours a day,” says Stefani.

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Gustavo Kuerten

The joyous cries of Guga, Guga, Guga once rang through Roland Garros like an angel’s choir singing praises at the Vatican. But those cheers disappeared long ago, as the charismatic Brazilian has been waylaid by one hip injury after another.

 Gustavo Kuerten is back once again, but now he is 30 and trying to disprove the theory that no player who has undergone a serious hip surgery can regain his top form again.

In his 7-6, 6-2 loss to Argentine up-and-comer Juan Martin del Potro at Indian wells, Kuerten looked far more comfortable off court in his personally designed Guga wear tank top than he did in his standard playing wear. Guga still isn’t moving fluidly and still doesn’t trust his lower half when moving laterally. His bum hip may never allow him to float from inside the baseline like he did when he won three Roland Garros crowns.

“I just need to get a little bit more consistency, and then maybe some more endurance too during my next tournaments,” said Kuerten, who certainly performed respectably, but is lacking in confidence and power. “It seems like I’m getting things much more close right now than they used to be, so maybe in two or three months, [I can] get to a level to just worry about the tactics and the technique I’m playing and don’t need to get myself worried about the physical anymore.”

That would be an amazing story, because renowned sports scientist Vic Braden told Kuerten that because he hits off his back foot, “it places several hundred pounds of force on the hip and knee and ankles.” Kuerten’s hip may not hold up long enough to allow him to make one last great run. But Guga, who hasn’t won a title in three years, is confident he won’t break down again.

“I really feel myself getting better,” he said. “I’m not having some of the backwards [movement] like I was last year, going well and then somehow I went down below again. Now I really start to rise. I’m already maintaining, getting better. I think in this way, you don’t have the doubts in your mind. You start to be more and more sure.”

All the Brazilian can hope for is that he stays healthy and then somehow, some way, his speed comes back, his balance returns and his timing is there. He will never lope to the ball like a gazelle like he once did, but he’s smart, has variety and substantial power. That probably will not mean another Slam title, but who knows? Guga just might push back into the top 20. The thrill is back for Guga, and that’s a necessary part of his journey.

Kuerten was 2-6 this year through Indian Wells, and it will be a tough, long road back. But if everything falls into place, he could be a factor at the French, and as he said, he’s already close to playing top-50 tennis. So if he reaches his favorite locale playing top-30 tennis, he’ll be a spoiler in the most toxic sense of the word. Then the cries of “Guga, Guga, Guga” may rise from the clay once more.

“It’s what I like,” he said. “It’s enthusiasm. It’s danger. It’s the nerves of being out there. It’s everything I want it to be when I’m on court.”

Fernando Gonzalez

Larry Stefanki has a simple term for Fernando Gonzalez’s forehand — nuclear. It’s a side he doesn’t touch, which is pretty incredible considering that the San Diego-based coach has remade plenty of games from the bottom up.

The big Chilean is so comfortable with the shot that he’ll go all out from almost every position. He takes a big backswing, has a huge follow through and can launch it at triple-digit speed. He can flatten it out, throw in tremendous topspin, even slice it if he has to. Most players think it’s the most powerful forehand in the game, which is saying something considering how may other top stars can make hay from that side, including Federer, Roddick and Nadal.

“It’s my favorite shot, my weapon,” the Chilean said. “I always enjoy trying to hit high, hard and flat. I can do many things with that shot. The most important thing is to try and keep my legs moving. I can control it. Normally, I put the ball where I want to.”

Justine Henin-Hardenne

Gastrointestinal illnesses, her separation from husband Pierre-Yves and an on-again/off-again relationship with that “other” blonde Belgian aside, Justin Henin-Hardenne remains at the top of the game after reaching all four GS finals in ‘06. Her greatest asset may be her singular, dogged determination, but it’s the five-time Slam champ’s graceful, sweeping backhand that we admire most. Not since Guga Kuerten have we seen such a wondrous one-hander. (That guy Federer’s ain’t too shabby, either.)

Andy Roddick

Slam pioneers Noah and Sampras were going vertical long before Roddick had even shed his baby teeth, but A-Rod has since all but made the leaping overhead his own signature shot. Is there a more authoritative, entertaining stroke in the game than when Roddick rockets skyward for an airborne interjection? The ATP’s answer to a Jordan slam dunk from the top of the key.

Ivo Karlovic