THEY'RE BATTLING A FAMILIAR FOE.

Byline: RAMONA SHELBURNE LOCAL

CARSON - Maria Sharapova is still new to Los Angeles, but it hasn't taken her long to figure out her place in it.

She's been voted the sexiest female athlete in scores of men's magazines, won a Wimbledon title, even held the No. 1 ranking in the world for a time. That should be enough to make her an A-list celebrity in this town, but Sharapova said she's rarely stopped for an autograph when she goes out with friends near her home in Manhattan Beach.

Actually, that's what she likes about L.A.

``I'm not into the Hollywood scene,'' she said. ``I just like to go out and have a good time with my friends.''

That might be a good thing for Sharapova's private life, but it doesn't necessarily say much for the state of women's tennis in Los Angeles.

Tennis in the Southland used to be held in intimate country clubs, with built-in fan bases and moderate expectations. But since 2003, the WTA and AEG have tried to bring it into the mainstream, bringing the season-ending tour championships to the cavernous Staples Center, and moving the JPMorgan Chase Open from the confines of the 4,000-seat stadium at the Manhattan Beach Country Club to the new, $30-million dollar, 8,000-seat stadium at the Home Depot Center.

The results have been decidedly mixed. Weekend sessions with the biggest-name players have drawn near-capacity crowds. In 2004, the final here drew 8,161.

But day sessions during the week often don't look any bigger than an average Little League baseball crowd, especially if the two players on the court are particularly esoteric to the average fan.

To be fair, that's not uncommon at any WTA or ATP stop. But the JPMorgan Chase event is not positioned as just any WTA stop.

``We have a lot of confidence in our abilities to build events, it's what we do,'' tournament director Bill Peterson said. ``We've made a huge commitment to tennis. We've built a $30-million tennis stadium because we believe in the marketplace.''

The question is, how do you build that marketplace big enough to consistently fill an 8,000-seat stadium?

Said Sharapova: ``You have so many different things going on in L.A., and tennis is just another one of those things.''

One thing that needs to happen: The stars need to show up. Last year was the perfect storm of disaster. The two stars with the highest drawing power among local fans -- Lindsay Davenport and Serena Williams -- pulled out the week before the event. Sharapova lasted only twomatches.

This year, all three are healthy and in the field.

WTA CEO Larry Scott hopes that bodes well.

``We expect this year's JPMorgan Chase Open to have it's best year ever,'' he said. ``The player field is fantastic, the facility is state-of-the-art, and the event organizers, who now have extensive experience in the local market, know how to build a successful women's professional tennis event.''

Official attendance for the 12 sessions last year (56,741) was the highest in the three years the event has been played here, but most observers put the number of actual bodies in the stands at little more than half that.

There even were a handful of ticket scalpers in the parking lot before Williams' match Tuesday night.

``It's been much better this year. We should do good business tonight because Serena's playing,'' said a scalper, who preferred not to identify himself. ``Last year, we had no business. More people wanted to sell their tickets than buy them.''

The Manhattan Beach Open always was a good draw. And the Acura Classic at the La Costa Resort and Spa near San Diego -- which drew 83,054 fans to 14sessions at a 6,500-seat stadium last week -- shows there's a healthy appetite for the women's game.

But like Sharapova at a nightclub in Manhattan Beach, it just might take a little while longer to recognize it.

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Photo:

(color) There weren't many fans at the tennis stadium at Home Depot Center Tuesday afternoon to watch Elena Dementieva play Julia Schruff.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer