Daniela Hantuchova
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Biography
Daniela Hantuchová is a Slovak professional tennis player. She has the rare distinction of being only the fourth women in tennis history to complete a career Gland Slam in mixed doubles.
Daniela Hantuchová was born on April 23, 1983 in Poprad, Slovakia. Her grandmother Helena was a former Czech national player and encouraged Daniela to take up tennis when she was just three years old. Though her mother Marianna was a toxicologist by profession, she quit her career to manage Daniela's career. Daniela's father Igor was a Computer Science professor at the University of Technology at Bratislava.
Daniela showed promise as a tennis player when she was young. Her grandmother, Helena, signed Daniela up at Slavia STU to develop her potential. Slavia STU was one of the largest tennis clubs in Bratislava and Daniela began training under Joseph Bulko.
When she was 13 years old, Daniela started spending her winters training at the Bollettieri Academy in Bradenton, Florida. In 1998, she joined the ITF Circuit, qualifying in her hometown of Bratislava. The next year, in 1999, she won the ITF challenger titles-Jackson and Fano. The same year Daniela turned pro and joined WTA. She played her first WTA tournament again at Bratislava. Though Daniela ranked 201 at the end of the 1999 WTA season, by the year 2000 she started making a bigger impression. She reached the quarterfinals in Strasbourg. She also reached the quarterfinals in Luxembourg beating the top 10 player, Nathalie Tauziat on the way.
Her performances in the doubles events were equally impressive. In October 2000, she won her first Tour doubles title at Bratislava with fellow Slovakian Karina Habsudova. Daneila appeared in her first Grand Slam event in 2001 at the Australian Open. She cleared the round robin league, but was defeated by Anna Kournikova in the first round. She also reached till the first round at the U.S Open and till the second round at Roland Garros. However, she won her first Grand Slam title that year at Wimbledon when she won the mixed doubles event with partner Leos Friedl.
In 2002, Daneila catapulted to number 8 women tennis player in the world. She won the 2002 Australian Open mixed doubles title with new partner Kevin Ullyett. Her first major success in the singles event also came in 2002. At the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, she defeated Martina Hingis in the final. She also played the 2002 Fed Cup representing Slovakia and helped the country win the cup. However, 2003 saw a sharp decline in Daneila's form triggered by a public breakdown at the Wimbledon. She was seen crying during and after her match with Shinobu Asagoe in the 2nd Round. She lost the match 10-12 in the final set. Over 2003 and 2004, Daneila lost considerable weight. It was widely reported that she was not being able to deal with high expectations at such a young age. Her rankings slipped to 60s during this period. However, in 2004, Daneila reinforced her claim in tennis arena. She performed consistently and finished the year inside top 30. 2005 turned out to be Daniela's best year since 2002. She reached the final at Los Angeles in addition to three semifinals and six quarterfinals on the WTA tour. She finished the year inside the top 20.
In 2006, Daniela has started well by reaching quarter finals at Sydney and the semifinals at Auckland. Her biggest success this year has been her victory over defending champion and seven-time Grand Slam tournament champion Serena Williams at the Australian Open.
Daniela, once almost written off as a person unable to handle pressure, has resurged with a ferocity. It remains to be seen whether she can match her singles events achievements with her success at the doubles events.
Links
AskMen.com: Daniela Hantuchova
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Daniela Hantuchova
Daniela Hantuchova @ WTA Stunners
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