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TMS - ROMEMay 17, 2001Daniela HantuchovaTHE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Forgive me, because I do not know many things about you. What is your father in his life? Is he a player, or is he totally out of tennis? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: No, he's a professor in a university. Q. Oh, pretty good. We need the cultural. What university? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: A university in my town, like a technical with the computer scientist, something like that. Q. My computer has just stopped now. It doesn't want to go on. DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: So you've got to call him. Q. What's the university called? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: It's a Slovak technical university. Q. Tell us about yourself, how you got started. DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: I started when I was six years old. My first coach was my granny, she was the best player in Slovakia. Q. Your grandmother? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Yeah. Q. What is her name? Do we know her? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Same name, Hantuchova. Q. What is her first name? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Helena. Q. She was the best player in --? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: -- Slovakia, uh-huh. Q. But at that time, Slovakia was still --? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Yeah, with Czech. Q. Czechoslovakia, so we should know. We are probably as old as her grandmother. How old is she? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: She is now 75. Q. We're in the neighborhood. How long till you beat her? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Well, I don't know, ten years. Q. Ten years? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Yeah. Q. So ten years ago you were...? How old were you ten years ago? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Eight. Q. So you beat your grandmother at eight? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Yeah. (Laughing.) Q. How much schooling have you done? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: I'm going to graduate this year. Q. From high school? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Yeah. Q. How can you make it, by letters? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: No, no, I'm visiting my high school. Every half year I do the exams, and then this year I'm going to graduate. Q. Congratulations, it's not that easy when you're playing. DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Thanks, yep. Q. Graduation in what? Some special subject or...? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: It's one of the best high schools in Slovakia. It's like -- I mean you can choose whatever you want to study, but it's like everything. Q. It's preparing you for university if you wanted to go? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Yeah, yeah. Q. Do you have any thoughts on going to university? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Well, I think, you know, the university and the high schools are also important, but depends how I'm going to do in tennis - well, I hope. I mean, it depends, so I don't know yet. Q. Do you like the life so far? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Oh, yeah, I love it. Yep. (Smiling.) Q. Are you one of the players who look around in the town? Because a lot of players do not look around in the town during the tournament. They only see the tennis courts. DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Yeah, I think there are many other important things in life, not just tennis. So you have to also look around. Q. Have you been enjoying Rome? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Oh, yeah, Rome is my most favorite city, so I really enjoy to stay here and the whole tournament. Q. What do you like about Rome? What are some special things about the town? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Well, I just love the history and all the beautiful buildings and great people and great cars, and everything is here just great. (Smiling.) Q. Does your mother travel with you all the time? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Yeah, uh-huh. Q. What is her name? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Marianna. Q. Did she play some tennis, too? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Yeah, she's also playing and my dad also. But they are like -- yeah, they are also playing. But not as a -- they didn't play for professionals or something, just for fun. Q. Brothers and sister? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Brother. Q. One brother. What's his name? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Igor. Q. May I tell you that you look different now that you are seated here. You look very relaxed. On the court this morning sometimes to me can be the impression you looked a little bit stiff. DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: In practice? Q. No. DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Oh, in the match? Q. During the game. Is it the wrong impression of mine, or you were in some way too tense or...? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Well, maybe the first few games I was a little bit tense, but then I started to play my game so I was more relaxed. I don't think I was tense at all. Q. So this was not Mauresmo's fault? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: No. Q. I noticed you volleyed a couple of times. DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Who, Mauresmo? Q. You. DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: I should have been more often. Well, I like to -- the game of serve and volley, but it's very tough, you know, against the best players because they return so good and their passing shots are really good. So it's really tough to get there with those players. Q. But you would like to? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Yeah, yeah. Q. You like to play on grass? Do you know grass already? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Yeah, yeah. Q. So just wait a few weeks. DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Yeah. Q. You played Wimbledon in the Juniors, did you? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Yeah, I played in the Juniors once, yeah. I was -- I lost in the third round or something, and doubles semifinal. Q. You were in the quarterfinal last year at Wimbledon, 6-4 in the third, an Australian on grass is not bad? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Was a good match, yeah. Q. So you like the grass? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Yeah. Well, actually I don't care what surface I'm playing on. Q. So with all this occupation and traveling with mama, you don't have any time for a sentimental life, I assume? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Well, that's the way of tennis. So I really enjoy the game, so... Q. What's next? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Roland Garros. Q. About languages, I'm sure you speak a few. DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: I speak English, German and Slovak. Q. So if you want to speak with a Russian, you can speak --? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Yeah, I can, I can understand Croatian and... Q. And about Gatone, because you know when we speak about some player from your country, we speak about Mecir. We call him Gatone. Do you have some relation or something? He has been involved in any way in your life? Did he come to see you play? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: I don't know what you mean. Q. You don't understand. You know there is a tennis player in your town called Mecir? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Yeah. Sure, I know him. Q. We call him Gatone. DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: I see, yeah. Q. No relation at all? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Oh, yeah, yeah, sure. We are great friends and he's practicing with Kucera in the same club, so we see each other very often and he's a great player, yeah. . Q. You never played with him? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: No. Q. Did you hit some balls or something like this? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: No, no. Q. Your relationship with the Czech players, Slovak and Czech is just fine or...? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Yeah, for me it's fine. Maybe for the other players, you know... Q. What did you say your father's name was? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Igor. Q. He's Igor as well as your brother? DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Yep, yeah. End of FastScripts.... |
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