Sharapova has designs on fashion career

Santiago: Tennis former world No. 1 Maria Sharapova is interested in trying her hand at designing clothing. The Russian player, who left her fashion mark wearing gold tennis shoes in Wimbledon in 2005, doesn`t want to be a model but plans to focus on design instead.

"I love designing. I love the fact that it`s very creative," Sharapova told reporters on a visit to Santiago, where she will play an exhibition match against Argentina`s Gisela Dulko called the "Beauty Challenge.""The world of tennis has opened up many doors in my career and I`ve been able to experience many of them and fashion is certainly one of them and I definitely hope that after my career I`ll be able to expand on that."Ranked No. 14 in the world, Sharapova has attracted a huge online fan base, in part for her striking looks, and is often featured in magazines as a model. Bureau Report