She is not hot only on the tennis court, but also a fashion diva who topped ACE magazine’s list of sexiest players. Her endless long legs have as many admirers as her backhands that stun opponents on court. And at the Sunfeast Open, she is on a roll. Until her semi-final loss to Maria Kirilenko, that is.

Notwithstanding that, she is ranked 11th in the world, she had none other than Martina Navratilova as her ‘mentor’ in the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour mentor programme ‘Partners for Success’. “Martina Navratilova has taught me a lot. I was pleased to be partnered with her through the WTA Tour’s mentoring programme. She was very generous with her knowledge of tennis. It was a great experience for me,” said Daniela Hantuchova.

Her journey from Poprad in Slovakia, to Monte Carlo, Monaco, has been a fairytale story. Born in a family where brains have been more in vogue than brawn, she had jokingly said that she played tennis because, “Maybe I am stupid.” Her father is a computer scientist, mother a toxicologist and brother an architect—and so naturally she wants to be near the top end of the tennis ladder.

The Slovak had shown early signs of her talent when she won the WTA title at Indian Wells in 2002. But then there was a slump and she had to wait for five years for a second title—and it came at the same venue. “I hope I don’t have to wait that long for the next title. But at one point, many people were saying that I won’t win anything else. I was happy to have proved them wrong.”

... contd.