Forget Maria Sharapova's 'attitude' and concentrate on her quality!

Few players since the Williams sisters have split fans and pundits as much as Maria Sharapova. After winning every major title except Roland Garros (although her maiden clay tournament win last week in Florida is an important and significant stepping stone), she is a proven champion.

Indeed, her place in the history books has been assured ever since she stunned everyone in 2004 by winning Wimbledon at 17. She became the second youngest champion ever and, until Venus Williams’ double title wins last year and in 2005, the lowest-ranked seed to take the trophy.

Two more Grand Slam successes and a clutch of every major title going have since cemented Sharapova as one of the great players in history - and she is still just 20 years old.

Barring a Serena-esque hiatus from the tour - where the American committed herself to anything but tennis after injuries and improved opponents reared their predominantly eastern European heads - then Sharapova will carry on winning titles and maybe even complete that career Slam that must feel as elusive to her as it does to Roger Federer.

Yes, she has of course dipped both feet rather frequently into the pool of off-court publicity and marketing ventures, but these are part and parcel of the women’s game today. It is a pleasant surprise that less players have succumbed Kournikova-style to the WTA’s sometimes shameless parading of their more ‘promotable’ female stars.

Of these, Sharapova’s Swimsuit Illustrated appearance created the most controversy with a significant rise in the Russian's male fan base and some criticism of where her commitments lay.

For many though, the problems with the Russian lie wholly on the court.

She is, still, the very epitome of inelegance. The obscenely long toilet breaks, on-court coaching, deliberately-timed racquet changes and those grunts (which have all but erased the memory of Monica Seles’ much despised ‘exhalations’) are unfortunately all very legal in the modern game (only accentuating the sports embarrassing attempts to sacrifice grace and dignity for the entertainment factor). The argument is that many players are guilty of these offences; true, but none quite to the same extent as the Russian.

Her game, too, although unquestionably effective and bar that forehand technically superb, is still utterly devoid of grace and for the most part, any sort of variety and attractively deployed tactical play.

This makes for an unattractive match of tennis - regardless of Sharapova’s opponent, who is very rarely given the chance to show her catalogue, so damning and relentless is the Russian’s accurate power play.

Ultimately, Sharapova’s unmistakable yet often lightweight unsportsmanlike attitude, her underhand on-court tactics and off-court arrogance will help to create many more fanatical and often far too damning critics and jealous fellow players.

These will always be countered by her legion of fans, often unfairly labelled as a whole as predominantly male, admiring anything but ground strokes - who, like me, have been on occasion inspired by Sharapova’s belief and mental toughness.

It is her insatiable appetite for winning and the subsequent titles that she will continue to win that will outweigh her questionable attitude in years to come.