In the tennis world, Maria Sharapova’s father is almost, well not quite, as legendary as Maria herself.  Yuri Sharapov is a constant fixture courtside during Maria’s matches and although he’s often been criticized for (possibly) coaching her via hand signals, the bond between the two seems solid.  Strong-willed fathers, who are also their daughter’s coaches, is nothing new among the top players on the WTA Tour.  Over the years, there have been several fathers who coached their daughters, e.g. Jimmy Evert (Chris), Roland Jaeger (Andrea), Jim Pierce (Mary), Peter Graf (Steffi), Karoly Seles (Monica) and Richard Williams (Venus and Serena) to name a few.  A couple of moms have also led their daughters into the winner’s circle, e.g. Yulia Berberian (Manuela, Katrina and Maggie Maleeva) and Melanie Molitor (Martina Hingis).  Although men’s golf had the wonderful relationship between Tiger and Earl Woods, there have been no dads (or moms!) recently coaching the top players on the sidelines of the ATP Tour.  A glance at the “friends box” at any tournament will illustrate the strength of family ties on both tours, but clearly the men have elected to strike out on their own…