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Top 10 Most Attractive and Hottest Women Tennis Players in the World
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Daniela Hantuchova: Daniela
Hantuchov� is a Slovak professional tennis player. She is currently coached by
Larri Passos. Her WTA Tour mentor in the "Partners for Success" program was
Martina
Navr�tilov�, who was her doubles partner for a brief period in early 2005. As of
November 26, 2012, Hantuchov� is ranked World No. 32 in singles. She turned
professional in
1999 and had her breakthrough year in 2002, when she won her first Tier I
tournament and ended the year in the top 10.In 2005, she became the fifth female
tennis player to win
the mixed doubles title in all four Grand Slam tournaments during her career.
Hantuchov� was born in Poprad, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia) to father Igor, a
computer scientist, and mother Marianna, a toxicologist. When her parents split
up in 2003,
Hantuchov�'s performances temporarily worsened. At Wimbledon that year, she
failed to convert several match points and was seen weeping on court. She also
suffered from a
weight problem during this period. She was suspected of being anorexic, but
denied this.
Hantuchov� speaks three languages (Slovak, English, and German), and was trained
as a classical pianist. She is thought to be a perfectionist and puts a lot of
pressure on herself
during her training. She qualified for university in Slovakia but deferred it to
pursue tennis.
She appeared in the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition alongside Maria
Kirilenko and Tatiana Golovin in a pictoral entitled Volley of the Dolls. In July
2012, Hantuchov�
appeared nude on the 2012 edition of ESPN: The Magazine's "The Body Issue". She
appeared on one of six special edition covers.
Hantuchov� started the year as the world no. 38, being known as a new
up-and-coming player, in the Gold Coast, where she lost to world no. 7 Justine
Henin in the second round
in a three setter, 6�1, 0�6, 3�6. After reaching the round of 16, after
qualifying, in Sydney, Hantuchov� went on to play at the 2002 Australian Open,
losing in the third round to
second seed Venus Williams, 6�3, 0�6, 4�6.
After climbing the rankings to world no. 26, having competed in Paris and
Antwerp (reaching the round of 16 in both), she went into the prestigious Indian
Wells event, defeating
Justine Henin in the fourth round, 6�3, 6�3, and Martina Hingis in the final,
6�3, 6�4. She was the lowest ranked player (seeded 18th) to ever win the Tier I
event. In Miami and
Amelia Island, Hantuchov� went on to lose surprisingly in the second round. She
then played in Charleston, only to be beaten again in the second round by 1995
Australian Open
and 2000 French Open Champion Mary Pierce, 3�6, 4�6, Pierce being ranked no.
232. Playing in the Fed Cup, she won one of her two singles rubbers against
Switzerland. Also in
the clay season, Hantuchov� reached the quarterfinals in Hamburg and Berlin,
losing to Martina Hingis in straight sets and Anna Smashnova, 6�1, 2�6, 3�6.
Having entered the
French Open as the 11th seed and world no. 13 and losing her previous match in
Rome in the first round, she beat Cara Black (after losing to her in Miami
earlier in the year), only
to lose to former champion Monica Seles in straight sets in the fourth round.
Hantuchov� progressed to the semifinals of Eastbourne, losing to Myskina. At
Wimbledon, she beat no. 7 Jelena Dokić in the round of 16, only to be beaten by
the eventual
champion, Serena Williams.
Hantuchov� began the year at the Brisbane International, where she reached her
first final of the year, defeating Dominika Cibulkov� and Vania King, before
receiving a walkover in
the quarterfinals when Serena Williams pulled out of the event with an ankle
sprain. In the semifinals, she lost the first set to Kim Clijsters, before the
Belgian retired with a hip
injury midway through the second. In the final, Hantuchov� was easily defeated
by Kaia Kanepi, 6�2, 6�1. In Sydney, Hantuchov� upset Francesca Schiavone in the
second round,
before falling to second seed Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinals. Seeded No. 20
at the Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia, Hantuchov� fell to eventual
semifinalist and defending
champion Kim Clijsters in straight sets in the third round.
At Pattaya, she successfully defended her title by defeating No. 4 seed Maria
Kirilenko 6�7(4), 6�3, 6�3 in the final. However, Hantuchov� was upset in the
first round of the Qatar
Ladies Open in Doha, Qatar the following week by Simona Halep 3�6, 6�2, 7�6(4).
At the Dubai Tennis Championships, she fell in the quarters to eventual
finalist, Julia G�rges,
4�6, 6�3, 6�4.
Hantuchov� then suffered relatively unsuccessful tournaments in Indian Wells and
Miami. She fell in the second round after a bye to Czech Kl�ra Zakopalov� 3�6,
7�6(7), 3�6. In
Miami, she defeated Kateryna Bondarenko in a third set tiebreaker, before
falling to Ana Ivanovic 2�6, 6�7(2). At the Fed Cup against Spain, she lost to
Silvia Soler Espinosa 6�7
(5), 4�6, before defeating Lourdes Dom�nguez Lino 0�6, 7�6(4), 6�4 to clinch the
tie 3�2 for Slovakia.
Hantuchov� lost her first round match at Wimbledon 2012 against Jamie Hampton,
4�6, 6�7.
In the 2012 London Olympics, Hantuchov� upset No. 10 seed Li Na 6�2, 3�6, 6�3 in
the first round. She then beat frenchwoman Alize Cornet 6�3, 6�0 in the second
round. She
faced No. 8 seed Caroline Wozniacki in the third round and lost 6�4 6�2.
Until the 2009 US Open, Hantuchov� endorsed Nike sportswear and had her own line
with them for her tournament wear, like players such as Maria Sharapova and
Serena
Williams. From the 2009 US Open onwards, Hantuchov� began endorsing Adidas
sportswear. As of Wimbledon 2010, she shares the same signature line as Ana
Ivanovic. In 2006,
Hantuchov� also appeared on an advertisement for Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot phone
with Ivanovic.
Hantuchov� also has endorsed three racquet brands. She first endorsed Babolat
from the time she was a junior until late 2003, then Yonex until the 2007 Toray
Pan Pacific Open
in Tokyo, when she started using the Prince Ozone Seven Racquets in the 2007
Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships. Photos were released from Prince giving the
impression that
Hantuchov�, from the start of the 2011 season, will be using the Prince EXO3
Tour 100. However, she signed a deal with Volkl Tennis and is currently using
the Volkl Power Bridge
9. This means that she has endorsed four brands of racquets so far in her
career, more than most players. Starting with the 2011 Fed Cup, she began using
the Prince EXO3 Tour
Team 100, with which she won her fourth career title.
Team achievements
-
2000 Eurotel Doubles Champion
-
2002 Fed Cup Champion (Slovakia)
-
2004 Hopman Cup Finalist (with Karol Kučera)
-
2004 Athens Olympic Games
-
2005 Hopman Cup Champion (with Dominik Hrbat�)
-
2008 Beijing Olympic Games
-
2012 London Olympic Games
Special achievements
-
2001 WTA Newcomer of the Year Award
-
2002 WTA Most Improved Player of the Year Award
-
2003 Laureus World Sports Academy Award nominee for World Newcomer of the Year
Award
Next..
Dated 05 December 2012
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