Committed to PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO KNOW
Vol. 5 Num 29 Fri. June 25, 2004  
   
Sports


Wimbledon
Talented yet tormented


At just 21 Slovakia's Daniela Han-tuchova can hardly be classed as a veteran but she could be excused for telling likely Wimbledon third round opponent, Russian teen Maria Sharapova, "been there, done it."

The leggy brunette became the new "tennis babe" when she beat then world number one Martina Hingis in the final at Indian Wells to claim her first trophy in 2002.

But alarmingly her slender appearance turned increasingly waif-like and the focus shifted onto her dramatic weight loss which some put down to an eating disorder.

It all became too much for her at Wimbledon last year.

Looking distinctly underweight, she blew three match points when 5-2 up in the final set against Japan's Shinobu Asagoe and broke down in tears as she crumbled to a 12-10 defeat.

Clearly feeling the pressure, her ranking slumped from number five to 54 as the glamour focus switched elsewhere.

But it was a reinvigorated Hantuchova who turned up for the short grass court season at Eastbourne last week.

Looking much healthier and happier she made it into the final defeating powerful French woman Amelie Mauresmo on the way.

"I feel really great and really happy to be back," Hantuchova said.

"I've just totally put the last year behind me and am just focussed on my future, making sure that I do everything that's in my control to get where I want to be.

"Everything seems to be in place now and I think things are going the right way now."

In the meanwhile the statuesque Russian blonde Sharapova has taken on the "new Anna Kournikova mantle" reaching the Wimbledon quarterfinals last year on her first appearance.

She won the Birmingham warm-up title last week and is riding on a career-high ranking of 15.

Hantuchova is already in the third round, her second round opponent Elena Bovina of Russia withdrawing through injury, and Sharpova is expected to cruise past British No. 1 Anne Keothavong to set up the showcase tie.

But the media spotlight is not always the most comfortable of places, as Hantuchova knows only too well.

Sharapova, at just 17, has yet fully to go through the media mincer.

The Siberian followed in the footsteps of fellow Russian beauty Kournikova, learning her trade at Nick Bollettieri's academy in Bradenton, Florida.

But the tall blonde is fed up with the comparisons, as she has three singles trophies to her name, whereas her predecessor came under media fire for combining her perfect 10 in the beauty scores with a perfect zero in singles titles.

Sharapova had one of the loudest grunts in the game, but the youngster tempered her screams after coming in for criticism.

And she brushed off a potential bust-up in March after Bulgarian teen Sesil Karatancheva threatened to "kick her butt off" in their next match.

Sharapova seems to have the temperament to continue to the top. But with Hantuchova full of confidence and experience, Wimbledon spectators might get to see a thrilling match between two genuine talents.