Near midnight for a balmy Miami and the floor of one of the city’s hottest nightclubs is heating up night. All eyes are drawn to a collection of blonde ьber-goddesses who are dancing up a storm, attracting lascivious glances from every red-blooded man in the room as the DJ cranks up the music. However the girls, who will be uniformly blonde, leggy and flaunting their bodies that are perfect barely-there dresses, are not the ubiquitous supermodels which is why Southern Beach is famed. No, they are the increasing movie stars for the ladies’ tennis circuit enjoying a night that is rare because they attempt to get to be the next Maria Sharapova – whom, incidentally, is within mail order asian brides the center associated with the flooring, waving her hands around wildly despite whining of a neck damage early in the day.
The event could be the kickoff celebration when it comes to Sony Ericsson Open. That is one of several earth’s tennis tournaments that are largest following the Grand Slams, but in addition typically the absolute most relaxed because of its location on Key Biscayne, a palm-fringed island just south of downtown Miami however a million kilometers from the pressures of Wimbledon.
The absolute most player that is promising of team is Daniela Hantuchova, a 24-year-old Slovakian that is rated ninth on the planet. As with any the girls, she talks in faltering English, is reserved and it is utterly centered on the one thing – winning. Tonight she walks the red carpeting alongside one other young hopefuls through the former communist nations of Eastern Europe whom decided to be interviewed and photographed exclusively for Live.
Intriguingly, girls, whom include Russian-born Maria Kirilenko and Michaella Krajicek, the sibling of 1996 Wimbledon champ Richard Krajicek, studiously avoid one another on the dancefloor, each creating court with regards to very very own number of salivating men in a variety of spots all over luxurious place, the Opium Garden. Them all fantasy of emulating the achievements of Sharapova, the Russian-born Wimbledon winner who may have channelled her success as a multimillion-pound kingdom many thanks to sponsorship relates to corporations such as for instance Nike, Canon, Land Rover, Colgate and Sony Ericsson. These earn her an approximated Ј20 million per year.
‘People see every one of these girls from Russia and Eastern Europe in addition they think there was a factory that turns us away,’ states Hantuchova in a barely audible throaty purr. ‘But I think the actual response is that individuals all spent my youth in a tradition that encourages time and effort.
‘I knew once I had been 5 years old and first found a racket that I desired to be a tennis player that is professional. From an extremely very early age that is all we dedicated to. It really is good for folks to just just simply take a pastime due to the means We look, but We guarantee you that tennis is my focus this is certainly primary.
Face-to-face, Hantuchova appears 5ft 11in inside her feet that are bare of which 44in are her perfect legs, stretching as much as this reduced mortal’s throat. She speaks four languages – Slovak, German, English and Spanish – and studied classical piano for eight years.
Operating her fingers that are pink-tipped her hair, she claims, ‘It is strange in my opinion when individuals give attention to just exactly exactly how we look. Its good to be complimented, but i’m an athlete, a sportswoman that is professional. I concentrate on my tennis.’
Her face clouds once I talk about the topic of the negative press she encountered at the beginning of her job. In 2002, she reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and also the United States Open and had been lauded given that next big thing. Then again arrived a period of fast weight loss that left her body searching shockingly skeletal. Rumours of an eating disorder observed and also by Wimbledon 2003 she had been a wreck, crashing out in the 2nd round.
Of this painful time, she says, ‘It ended up being extremely tough.
I happened to be young and I also read precisely what had been discussed me personally. We discovered a training from that, which can be that people love to build you up only to tear you down once more.
‘we have always been prepared now and I also am a much more resilient individual.
I do believe far an excessive amount of focus is placed on just just exactly how ladies look. You never hear individuals referring to padraig harrington’s fat or just exactly just what David Beckham consumes.
However with girls there was this focus that is huge appearance. Individuals should concentrate on the game.’
Three more girls with Eastern promise
MARIA KIRILENKO: Age 21. RANKING: 32. From Moscow, Russia. Height 5ft 8in. ‘Stella McCartney required a model when she ended up being approached by Adidas to develop tennis gear. She seemed through photographs of girls in the tour and picked me personally. We suppose I will be her muse. I do not understand any one of her dad’s music. I’m sure he had been in a combined group called the Beatles, but that is more my father’s generation. I prefer contemporary pop that is russian We began playing at seven whenever my father took us to view a competition. We fell deeply in love with tennis, but We additionally love soccer – We help Chelsea. We just take a soccer it helps me warm up and stay supple and quick with me everywhere. We meet Stella twice a 12 months in london. We practise in most the prototypes of her clothing and advise her on how best to cause them to become much more comfortable.’
