MELBOURNE  - Maria Sharapova Tuesday scoffed at being rated the world's highest-paid female athlete by Forbes, and sarcastically asked if the magazine had access to her bank account.
The Russian starlet was listed with annual earnings of $US27.9 million to put her comfortably ahead of China's Li Na on $US18.1 million, her opponent in the Australian Open semi-finals on Thursday. "Since when do we pay attention to Forbes?" Sharapova replied icily, when asked about the list at a press conference. "Do you think that they have my pass code to my bank account?" she asked the reporter, who replied he did not know. "Well, think about it," Sharapova fired back. Sharapova's earnings are set for a boost after the release of Sugarpova, her own line of sweets. But she gave short shrift to the idea of using Li to promote it in China. "I think I can do that," she said. The 25-year-old world number two added that men's players at the Australian Open were more eager to try Sugarpova than her female peers.
 "Mostly the ATP (men's) players are taking them," Sharapova said. "It doesn't seem like they have any diet restrictions. I think the girls are more cautious with the sugar. The guys, they don't care. I heard in their meeting, they were just all over it."