Eastern European Beauties to Grace the Court at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships
- Daniela Hantuchova and Nicole Vaidisova contest Women’s title at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships starting next week -
Dubai, UAE, February 20th, 2008: Sometimes it isn’t just great play that brings people to the tennis. Rafael Nadal’s rippling muscles sell tickets, and many love to watch the glamour queens of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour in action.
Two players who draw admiring looks are willowy Slovak Daniela Hantuchova and statuesque Czech Nicole Vaidisova. And both will be in action at the 2008 Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships this month.
Hantuchova’s model looks and love of fashion have long made her a standout attraction. But, much as she loves to parade down the catwalk or pose for magazines, she never loses sight of the fact that it is her tennis that matters most.
“Well, definitely that's what I always try to say, that I think we should be recognised more for what kind of athletes we are than perhaps the way we look and what kind of stuff we do outside the court,” she said in Melbourne, where she reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open. “Once we get on the court, we just want to play our best tennis and don't really care what we look like.”
Hantuchova has reached the Dubai quarter-finals twice in the last three years, losing to Serena Williams in 2005 and former champion Amelie Mauresmo in 2007. In 2006 she fell to top Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second round. So it has taken the very best to beat her. Now, the very best may not be good enough as she uses her new-found confidence and belief to climb the rankings.
“I would just get too hard on myself and was not able to forgive myself any mistakes. I always wanted to have everything perfect,” she said. “Then I realised that it's okay to do mistakes and it's okay to not always play my best tennis. It's a nice challenge to have to always find a way how to get through a match, even not playing well. And I think it's something that I've improved a lot the last few months.”
Vaidisova is only 18, but she has claimed wins over Ana Ivanovic, Elena Dementieva, Marion Bartoli, Amelie Mauresmo and Jelena Jankovic, and she climbed to seven in the world last May before sickness and injury put a temporary halt to her progress.
“I missed four tournaments after Wimbledon, and then I pulled my hamstring after the US Open,” Vaidisova said. “It’s disappointing because I played well and had a good ranking and a big chance to reach the Sony Ericsson Championships. I was really looking forward to it. In the second half of the year I almost didn’t play at all. But these are things I can’t do anything about, and now I’m just trying to enjoy the fact I’m on the court healthy.”
Both Hantuchova and Vaidisova have proved they are winners both on and off the court, but they will face tough competition in their bid to win the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships with Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic and Serena Williams among those trying to block their path.
“As well as being players of the highest calibre, Daniela Hantuchova and Nicole Vaidisova also recognise their role as entertainers,” said Colm McLoughlin, managing director of tournament owners and organisers Dubai Duty Free. “They take pride in both their game and their appearance, and their presence here perfectly mirrors the excitement and glamour of Dubai.”
Play at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, which is held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, begins on February 25th 2008 with the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour tournament, and is followed by the ATP event from March 3rd to 8th.
