Player of the Day

看板Hantuchova作者a881028 (a881028)時間19年前 (2005/09/09 19:27)推噓0(0推 0噓 0→)

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Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia teamed up with Mahesh Bhupathi of India at this year's US Open, and the pair turned out to be a match made in tennis heaven. They won their first mixed doubles title together Thursday after taking out Katarina Srebotnik and Nenad Zimonjic, 6-4 6-2. Both Hantuchova and Bhupathi are strong, successful players in their own right. Hantuchova has played eight matches in this tournament - five mixed doubles, three singles, and three women's doubles. She was knocked out of the third round in singles by Venus Williams, and also made it to the third round in women's doubles with partner Ai Sugiyama. But the 22-year-old found the most success at this year's Grand Slam playing mixed doubles. Since turning pro in 1999, Daniela's taken home one singles title and five in doubles. Ranked No. 19 in both singles and doubles, she has appeared at every Grand Slam tournament in both singles and doubles. Daniela has made it to the third round in 2003 playing doubles, and has played at the US Open a total of three times in her career. But something special happened this year when she matched up with Mahesh Bhupathi. "Oh, I feel fantastic. It's something really special. It means a lot to me. Now I guess I can concentrate on my singles career, especially having a partner like Mahesh, it makes it even more special," Hantuchova said after winning the title. "I gained a lot of confidence in the last couple of weeks, and I just have to, you know, keep going and keep the momentum now. Definitely I feel like I'm getting back where I want to be." Of her partner, Hantuchova had nothing but positive remarks. "I mean, every single time I was there with Mahesh, I just tried to learn something of his game, because he's, you know, one of the best doubles players that's been around ever. So it was a great experience and a big honor for me, obviously, to play with him." And she's not exaggerating. Bhupathi is currently ranked No. 12 in doubles, but is a former No. 1, with an astonishing 37 doubles titles to his name. Bhupathi has played eight matches at this year's Open, three in men's doubles and five with Hantuchova in mixed. Over the last year, Bhupathi has also won a doubles title in Sydney with Todd Woodbridge and was a finalist at Chennai with Jonas Bjorkman. The 31-year-old has been a member of the Indian Davis Cup team since 1995 — also the year he turned pro — and has a 23-18 career record in 22 ties (15-5 in doubles). In 2001, Bhupathi and his then-partner Leander Paes received India's highest honor, the Padma Shri, at a ceremony in New Delhi. The Padma Shri is India's equivalent to the American Medal of Honor or the British Knighthood, and is awarded to Indian citizens in recognition of their distinguished service to the nation. So just how did the doubles champ partner up with Hantuchova? "Well, honestly, I played against her a couple times in mixed. I think I've lost every time. So I've been trying to play with her for a long time, but unfortunately it never worked out," he said after their win Thursday. He added, "You know, first match we were down match point in the super tiebreaker. The fact that we fought hard and came out of that, we knew we were a good team. Winning matches like that is what makes it special. Ever since then I think we raised our level." A Look At Daniela Hantuchova ... Coach: Nigel Sears since Birmingham 2001 Favorite Tournament: Wimbledon Father: Igor, is a computer scientist Mother: Marianna, is a toxicologist Older brother: Igor is an architect working in Bratislava Fluent In: Slovak, English, German and is learning Italian Other Sports Played: Skiing, basketball, skating and swimming; Studied classical piano for eight years until she was 14 Trained At: The Bollettieri Tennis Academy between ages of 16 and 18 Also Enjoys: Haute couture, music, guava juice and relaxing on a quiet beach Favorite City: Rome. She also likes to visit Cape Town, South Africa Favorite Color: Blue Favorite Movie: "Love Actually" Music: Like Eros Ramazzotti Favorite Tennis Surface: Grass -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 211.74.100.175