Roddick, Sharapova were asked to share court

Looks like the publicity machine of the US Open arranged the very convenient pairing of Maria Sharapova and Andy Roddick on court today.

Desperate to give disappointed ticket holders at least a semblance of entertainment Saturday at the U.S. Open, where rain washed out every match on the schedule, tournament officials asked Maria Sharapova and Andy Roddick if they would hit with their respective practice partners at Arthur Ashe Stadium during a 20-minute break in the weather.

The megawatt blonds agreed. And even though scarcely a meaningful glance was exchanged between them as they slammed serves and forehands to opposite corners of the court, it was hard not to view the session as the "coming out" of the game's most glamorous players as a couple.

Roddick and Sharapova have been peppered with questions about whether they're romantically involved since the U.S. Open began last week.

The 19-year-old Sharapova has flatly declined to discuss her personal life in news conferences, adopting the sourpuss expression she flaunts in her latest Nike commercial, in which she strides from her Manhattan hotel to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center as a host of New Yorkers serenade her with, "I Feel Pretty."

Roddick, 24, has deflected suggestions of a liaison more directly.

"We're not dating," he said last week. "I've said it a million times already, but you guys refuse to write it. Mmm, you know, we're friendly. We're in the same places. I think she's a great girl. You know, we'll talk. But that's about it."

But their joint appearance had the stadium abuzz. The tournament's credentialed photographers rushed to the sideline to document the session; simply getting Sharapova and Roddick in the same frame has been a challenge to date. And fans slipped out digital cameras of their own as the two did what amounted to an on-court tango without ever touching.

The only interaction between them came when Sharapova hit a serve wide into Roddick's half of the court, instead of her hitting partner's service box, and Roddick returned it.

Still, hints of something deeper were in the air. A self-confessed fashionista who pays particular attention to her outfits, Sharapova wore a T-shirt atop her black training pants that read, "Love Is in the Air." Over the stadium's speakers, the song "Dirty Little Secret" blared. And while Roddick's form was monitored by his new coach, Jimmy Connors, Sharapova's strokes were watched even more closely by her father, Yuri. Washington Post

Photo credit: Ed Betz - AP