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. Nevertheless 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 movie stars for the ladies’ tennis circuit enjoying a uncommon particular date while they make an effort to end up being the next Maria Sharapova – whom, incidentally, is within the center regarding the flooring, waving her arms around wildly despite whining of the shoulder damage early in the day.
The event may be the kickoff celebration when it comes to Sony Ericsson Open. That is among the earth’s biggest tennis tournaments following the Grand Slams, but additionally usually the essential relaxed compliment of its location on Key Biscayne, a palm-fringed area simply south of downtown Miami but a million kilometers out of the pressures of Wimbledon.
The absolute most promising player associated with group is Daniela Hantuchova, a 24-year-old Slovakian that is rated ninth worldwide. As with any the girls, she talks in faltering English, is reserved and it is utterly dedicated to something – winning. Tonight she walks the carpet that is red one other young hopefuls through the previous 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 cousin of 1996 Wimbledon champ Richard Krajicek, studiously avoid one another from the dancefloor, each establishing court making use of their very own set of salivating males in several spots all over venue that is lavish the Opium Garden. Them all fantasy of emulating the achievements of Sharapova, the Russian-born Wimbledon winner that has channelled her success in to a multimillion-pound kingdom thanks to sponsorship handles corporations https://findmybride.net/asian-brides/ such as for example Nike, Canon, Land Rover, Colgate and Sony Ericsson. These earn her an approximated Ј20 million a year.
‘People see each one of these girls from Russia and Eastern Europe plus they think there was a factory that turns us down,’ states Hantuchova in a barely audible throaty purr. ‘But I think the true response is that people all was raised in a tradition that promotes work that is hard.
‘we knew once I ended up being 5 years old and first found a racket that we wished to be a tennis player that is professional. From a really very early age that is all we centered on. It really is good for folks to simply take a pastime due to the method We look, but I guarantee you that tennis is my primary focus.’
Face-to-face, Hantuchova appears 5ft 11in in her own feet that are bare of which 44in are her perfect legs, stretching as much as this smaller mortal’s throat. She talks four languages – Slovak, German, English and Spanish – and studied piano that is classical eight years.
Operating her fingers that are pink-tipped her locks, she claims, ‘It is strange in my experience whenever individuals give attention to just just just how we look. It really is good to be complimented, but i’m an athlete, a expert sportswoman. 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 profession. In 2002, she reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon as well as the United States Open and had been lauded while the next thing that is big. However arrived a time period of quick weight loss that left her body looking 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 the time that is painful she claims, ‘It ended up being extremely tough.
I became young and I also read exactly what ended up being discussing me personally. We discovered a training from that, which can be that folks want to build you up only to tear you down once again.
‘we have always been prepared now and I also am a much stronger individual.
I do believe far a lot of focus is placed on just just just how ladies look. You never hear individuals speaking about padraig harrington’s fat or just exactly what David Beckham eats.
However with the girls there is certainly this huge concentrate on appearance. Individuals should concentrate on the game.’
Three more girls with Eastern promise
MARIA KIRILENKO: Age 21. POSITION: 32. From Moscow, Russia. Height 5ft 8in. ‘Stella McCartney required a model whenever she had been approached by Adidas to develop tennis gear. She seemed through photographs of girls from the trip and picked me. I suppose I am her muse. I do not understand any one of her dad’s music. I’m sure he had been in group called the Beatles, but this is certainly more my father’s generation. I prefer contemporary pop that is russian We started playing at seven whenever my father took me personally to view a competition. We fell so in love with tennis, but We additionally love soccer – We help Chelsea. We have a football it helps me warm up and stay supple and quick with me everywhere. We meet Stella twice a year in london. We practise in most the prototypes of her garments and advise her about how to cause them to much more comfortable.’