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Daniela Hantuchová (Slovak pronunciation: born 23 April 1983) is a Slovak tennis player. She turned professional in 1999 and had her breakthrough year in 2002, when she won her first WTA tournament, the Indian Wells Masters, defeating Martina Hingis in the final and becoming the lowest-ranked player to ever win the tournament. She also reached the quarterfinals of that year's Wimbledon Championship and US Open, ending the year in the top 10. She was also part of the Slovak team that won the 2002 Fed Cup and the 2005 Hopman Cup.
Hantuchová reached her highest ranking, fifth, in January 2003, after reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. She has gone on to win a further six WTA tournaments, including the Indian Wells Masters for a second time in 2007 and most recently the 2015 Thailand Open. She also reached the semifinals of the Australian Open in 2008, the furthest she has progressed in a Grand Slam. She is the most successful Slovak tennis player of all time and became only the 37th woman in the Open Era to reach 500 career wins when she beat Laura Robson in the second round of the Aegon Classic in June 2013.
Hantuchová reached her highest ranking, fifth, in January 2003, after reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. She has gone on to win a further six WTA tournaments, including the Indian Wells Masters for a second time in 2007 and most recently the 2015 Thailand Open. She also reached the semifinals of the Australian Open in 2008, the furthest she has progressed in a Grand Slam. She is the most successful Slovak tennis player of all time and became only the 37th woman in the Open Era to reach 500 career wins when she beat Laura Robson in the second round of the Aegon Classic in June 2013.
Hantuchová is also an accomplished doubles player. In 2005, she completed the career Grand Slam in mixed doubles, becoming only the fifth female tennis player to do so. She won the mixed doubles at Wimbledon in 2001 with Leoš Friedl, at the Australian Open in 2002 with Kevin Ullyett, at the French Open in 2005 with Fabrice Santoro and at the US Open in 2005 with Mahesh Bhupathi. She has also reached the finals of the mixed doubles at Wimbledon in 2002 with Ullyett and the finals of the women's doubles at the Australian Open in 2002 with Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, at the French Open in 2006 with Ai Sugiyama and at the Australian Open in 2009 with Sugiyama.
Since March 2014 Hantuchová has been coached by Peter Lundgren and as of 18 August 2014, she is currently ranked world number 36 in singles. She was ranked 17 in 2012 but experienced a drop in her ranking due to injuries. Her WTA Tour mentor in the "Partners for a brief period in early 2005.
Hantuchová was born in Poprad, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia) to father Igor, a computer scientist, and mother Marianna, a toxicologist. Hantuchová was introduced to tennis by her grandmother Helena, a former Slovak national champion.
When her parents split up in 2003, Hantuchová'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, saying that her weight loss was due to over-training and that it had not affected her stamina.
Hantuchová speaks fluent Slovak, Czech, English and German, as well as some Croatian and Italian. She 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.
Hantuchová 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, she appeared nude in the 2012 edition of ESPN: The Magazine's "The Body Issue". She appeared on one of six special edition covers. Though widely considered to be a "sex symbol", Hantuchová has never considered herself as such, saying that modelling is "just fun to do from time to time".
Hantuchová is right-handed but uses both hands when playing backhand shots. She can hit the ball hard with both her forehand and backhand but is best known as a player with natural timing and excellent technique. A "superb ball-striker", she plays a flowing style, hitting deep, accurate ground strokes. Her double-handed backhand is a particularly potent weapon. She is often described as an "all-rounder". She has a strong, accurate serve and can play well when close to the net. She is famous for her long legs which are 43" (110 cm) long. Because she is so tall (5' 11"), she can cover a long distance in a short amount of time, which also helps in returning shots. Although her speed across court has reduced a little in recent years, she compensates with her stamina. Dubbed the "Queen of 3-setters", as of 15 January 2014, Hantuchová had played 263 three-set matches, more than anyone else on the tour, winning 181 of them.
