London, June 28: Russian teen Maria Sharapova had been touted as the new Anna Kournikova when she arrived at Wimbledon - but she could turn out to be even better than the real thing on the evidence of her performances so far.
Dubbed the "Queen of Scream" for her grunting, Sharapova, now based at Bradenton, Florida, has much to live up to yet if she is to emulate Kournikova's 1997 debut run to the semi-finals.
But she is well on her way after hammering 21st-seeded compatriot Elena Bovina 6-3, 6-1 to coast into the last 32 yesterday.
And the fresh-faced teen was keen to show just how firmly her feet are on the ground after sending her older rival packing in style as she moved onto a mouth-watering meeting with 11th seed Jelena Dokic of Serbia and Montenegro.
"I don't think it's a dream. This is reality. I just played really well," said Sharapova, perfectly at ease in facing the media afterwards. "When you play really well good things can happen. This is not dream land - it's reality and I'm in reality.



"I love coming here," said Sharapova, who had previously only experienced the all England club as a junior.



She said she would not be overawed by facing the experienced Dokic.


Bureau Report