| Nationality: SVK (Slovakia) |
| Birthdate: April 23, 1983 |
| Birthplace: Poprad, Slovakia |
| Residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco |
| Height: 1.81 m |
| Weight: 62kg |
| Turned Pro: Pro (May 1999) |
| Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
SINGLES
Winner (3): 2007 - Indian Wells, Linz; 2002 - Indian Wells; 2000 - ITF/Bronx, NY-USA; 1999 - ITF/Jackson, MS-USA, ITF/Fano-ITA.
Finalist (6): 2007 - Bali, Luxembourg; 2006 - Zürich; 2005 - Los Angeles; 2004 - Eastbourne; 2002 - Filderstadt.
Semifinalist (17): 2008 - Australian Open; 2007 - Doha, Rome, 's-Hertogenbosch, Stanford, Kolkata; 2006 - Auckland; 2005 - Doha, Cincinnati, Filderstadt; 2003 - Antwerp; 2002 - Eastbourne, Montréal, New Haven, Linz; 2001 - Oklahoma City, Birmingham.
DOUBLES
Winner (8): 2006 - Doha, Rome (both w/Sugiyama); 2005 - Birmingham (w/Sugiyama), Filderstadt (w/Myskina); 2002 - Amelia Island, New Haven (both w/Sánchez-Vicario); 2001 - Luxembourg (w/Bovina); 2000 - Bratislava (w/Habsudova); 1999 - ITF/Civitanova-ITA (w/Dyrberg).
Finalist (9): 2006 - Roland Garros, Los Angeles (both w/Sugiyama); 2005 - San Diego, Zürich (both w/Sugiyama); 2002 - Australian Open, Hamburg, Berlin (all w/Sánchez-Vicario), San Diego, Los Angeles (both w/Sugiyama).
MIXED DOUBLES
Winner (4): 2005 - Roland Garros (w/Santoro), US Open (w/Bhupathi); 2002 - Australian Open (w/Ullyett); 2001 - Wimbledon (w/Friedl).
Finalist (1): 2002 - Wimbledon (w/Ullyett).
ADDITIONAL
Slovak Fed Cup Team 1999-2003, 2007. Slovak Olympic Team 2004.
CAREER IN REVIEW
1998 - Played first event of career on ITF Circuit.
1999 - Fell in Birmingham qualifying, then made Tour main draw debut as WC at Bratislava (l. 1r); won two singles titles and one doubles title on ITF Circuit.
2000 - Reached first two Tour singles QF at Strasbourg and Luxembourg (d. No.7 Tauziat en route for first Top 10 win); fell in Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open qualifying; won one ITF Circuit singles title.
2001 - First Top 100 finish; SF twice, at Oklahoma City (d. No.10 Coetzer en route; l. to Capriati) and Birmingham (l. to Oremans); QF at Basel, Leipzig and Zürich; debuted at all four majors, making 2r at Roland Garros and Wimbledon; made Top 100 debut on February 26 (after Oklahoma; surged from No.108 to No.86) and Top 50 debut on August 20 (moving from No.54 to No.50); won first major mixed doubles title at Wimbledon.
2002 - First Top 10 finish in season highlighted by winning Tier I Indian Wells title (d. Hingis in final); afterwards on March 18, rose from No.26 to No.17 (Top 20 debut), becoming first Slovak in Top 20 since September 1997 (Habsudova); runner-up at Filderstadt (l. to Clijsters); afterwards on October 14, rose from No.11 to No.9 (Top 10 debut); SF at Eastbourne (l. to Myskina), Montréal (l. to Mauresmo), New Haven (l. to V.Williams) and Linz (l. to Stevenson); QF at Hamburg, Berlin, Wimbledon and US Open (first two Grand Slam QF; l. to S.Williams both times), Leipzig and Zürich; notched six Top 10 wins during season, at Indian Wells (No.7 Henin, No.4 Hingis), Berlin (No.9 Dokic), Wimbledon (No.7 Dokic), Fed Cup (No.10 Mauresmo) and US Open (No.6 Henin), bringing career tally to eight; in other two majors, reached 3r at Australian Open (l. to V.Williams 36 60 64, having held points for 5-4 third set) and 4r at Roland Garros (l. to Seles); was crucial member of winning Slovak Fed Cup team, going 2-0 during 3-1 final win over Spain (incl. 3hr, 21min singles win over Martínez); strong doubles results during season as well, incl. two titles and Australian Open runner-up finish (all w/Sánchez-Vicario); qualified for first Tour Championships in singles (l. 1r to Maleeva) and doubles (w/Sánchez-Vicario; withdrew due to Sánchez-Vicario's right thigh strain sustained in Fed Cup SF); reached career-high No.5 in doubles on August 26; won second major mixed doubles title at Australian Open (w/Ullyett).
2003 - Reached third straight Grand Slam QF at Australian Open (l. to V.Williams), then on January 27 became first Slovak woman to rank Top 5 (rising from No.8 to No.5); reached just one SF, at Antwerp (l. to V.Williams) and seven QF, at Sydney, Australian Open, Paris [Indoors], Charleston, Amelia Island, Berlin and Eastbourne; suffered early losses at other three majors, falling 2r at Roland Garros (l. to Harkleroad 76(2) 46 97, having trailed 5-1 third set before rallying back and serving for match at 6-5 before falling), 2r at Wimbledon (l. to Asagoe 06 64 1210, having led 5-2 third set and holding 3mp before falling) and 3r at US Open (l. to Tanasugarn); did not beat a higher-ranked player all year (best win was No.15 Schnyder at Australian Open) and slumped to No.19 by year's end.
2004 - Reached third career Tour singles final at Eastbourne (d. No.4 Mauresmo in SF for ninth career Top 10 win; l. to Kuznetsova 26 76(2) 64, having served for match 6-5 second set); won back-to-back matches three more times during season, reaching QF at Tokyo [Pan Pacific] (d. Sharapova en route) and New Haven and 3r at US Open (l. to Schnyder 76 third set after holding mp); dropped to No.54 on June 7 (lowest since September 2001) and rose back to No.31 by year's end; reached Hopman Cup final for Slovakia w/Kucera; upper respiratory infection caused withdrawal from Paris [Indoors] and ret. at Birmingham.
2005 - Return to Top 20 form; runner-up once, at Los Angeles (l. to Clijsters) and SF three times, at Doha (l. to Sharapova), Cincinnati (l. to Morigami) and Filderstadt (l. to Davenport); QF six times at Tokyo [Pan Pacific], Dubai, Stanford, New Haven, Luxembourg and Linz; notched three more Top 10 wins during season, over No.8 Molik (Dubai), No.6 Dementieva (Los Angeles) and No.10 Schnyder (Filderstadt); on August 29 (after New Haven), rose from No.20 to No.19 (first time in Top 20 since January 2004); suffered 36 75 62 loss to Davenport in Zurich 2r, a win that allowed the American to return to No.1 (led 63 53 w/2mp); won two mixed doubles majors at Roland Garros (w/Santoro), US Open (w/Bhupathi); became second woman in Open Era (Navratilova) and fourth in tennis history (also Court, King) to complete the career Grand Slam in mixed doubles; helped Slovakia win Hopman Cup (w/Hrbaty); ret. in Toronto w/heat illness; withdrew from Québec City w/right shoulder strain.
2006 - Another Top 20 season; runner-up once, at Zürich (l. to Sharapova) and SF once, at Auckland (l. to Zvonareva); QF twice, at Sydney (ret. vs. Vaidisova w/gastrointestinal illness) and Stuttgart; had four Top 10 wins during season, at Sydney (No.7 Schnyder), Stuttgart (No.10 Safina) and Zürich (No.8 Schnyder, No.4 Kuznetsova); 4r at first three majors of season, incl. Australian Open (d. S.Williams in 3r for first win in then-12 meetings vs. Williams sisters); on January 30 (after Australian Open) rose from No.17 to No.15 (first time in Top 15 since October 2003); on June 12 (after runner-up finish in doubles w/Sugiyama at Roland Garros), rose from No.11 to No.5 in doubles (return to career-high); ret. in Linz 1r w/right rib injury; withdrew from Birmingham w/wrist injury and from Cincinnati w/right foot injury.
2007 - Second career Top 10 season, highlighted by Indian Wells title and impressive fall results, including Linz title; won second and third career Tour singles titles at Indian Wells (as No.14 seed, d. No.3 seed Hingis in 4r and No.2 seed Kuznetsova in final) and Linz (as No.2 seed, d. No.5 seed Vaidisova 26 62 76(3) in SF for first win in five career meetings, having trailed 4-1 third set and saved mp at 6-5; d. No.6 seed Schnyder in final); runner-up two times in fall, at Bali (as No.2 seed, l. to Davenport in 3s) and Luxembourg (as No.4 seed, l. to No.2 seed Ivanovic 36 64 64, having led 3-0 second set); SF five times, at Doha (as No.6 seed, overcame 61 41 deficit to d. No.3 seed Hingis 16 64 64 in QF; l. to No.2 seed Kuznetsova), Rome (as No.9 seed, d. No.7 seed Chakvetadze en route; l. to No.2 seed Kuznetsova; was first SF in 34 career Tour clay court events), 's-Hertogenbosch (as No.5 seed, d. No.2 seed Ivanovic in QF; l. to No.3 seed and eventual champion Chakvetadze), Stanford (as No.3 seed, l. to top seed and eventual champion Chakvetadze in 3s) and Kolkata (as No.2 seed, l. to No.4 seed and eventual champion Kirilenko in 3s); also QF three times, at Dubai (l. to Mauresmo in 3s), Amelia Island (l. to Bammer in 3s) and Birmingham (l. to Bartoli 75 third set); had five Top 10 wins during regular season at Doha (No.6 Hingis), Indian Wells (No.6 Hingis, No.4 Kuznetsova), Rome (No.10 Chakvetadze) and 's-Hertogenbosch (No.6 Ivanovic); consistent results prompted Top 10 return on June 18 (after Birmingham; had spent 47 straight weeks there from October 14, 2002 to September 7, 2003; would spend 13 non-consecutive weeks there until end of 2007 season) and qualification for Tour Championships, as No.8 in Race (tied w/Sharapova; became seventh and eighth qualifiers after No.7 V.Williams' withdrawal); fell in RR stage w/1-2 record (l. to Sharapova, Ivanovic; d. Kuznetsova 76(7) 60, having trailed 4-1 first set and saving 5sp in tie-break); win over No.2 Kuznetsova was sixth Top 10 win of year, 22nd of career and first over a Top 3 player (best previous wins were three wins over No.4s); solid Grand Slam runs, with 4r at Australian Open (as No.15 seed, l. to No.4 seed Clijsters) and Wimbledon (as No.10 seed, d. No.19 seed Srebotnik in 3r for 300th career match win; l. to No.7 seed S.Williams in 3s) and 3r at Roland Garros (as No.12 seed, l. to No.24 seed Medina Garrigues in 3s marathon) but 1r at US Open (as No.9 seed, l. to Vakulenko in 3s); surpassed $5 million in career prize money earnings, first Slovak woman to achieve that (is currently the only Slovak woman past $2 million); went 0-2 in Slovakia's 5-0 World Group II loss to Czech Republic (l. to Vaidisova and Safarova, both in 3s); ret. during Los Angeles 3r match vs. Dementieva w/upper respiratory illness; withdrew from Strasbourg w/left leg strain.
YEAR IN DETAIL
JANUARY - Fell 2r at Sydney (as No.6 seed, l. to Vaidisova); reached first career Grand Slam SF at Australian Open (as No.9 seed, l. to No.4 seed Ivanovic in 3s; previous-best Grand Slams were three QF finishes).
FEBRUARY - Back-to-back QF at Paris [Indoors] (as No.2 seed, l. to No.7 seed Szavay 76(4) 61, having led 4-1 w/point for 5-1 first set) and Antwerp (as No.3 seed, ret. vs. qualifier Bacsinszky w/respiratory illness); withdrew from Doha and Dubai w/respiratory illness.
MARCH - Reached QF at Indian Wells (as No.5 seed, l. to No.4 seed Sharapova 76(2) 61, having led 5-2 first set w/sp at 5-4) but fell 3r at Miami (as No.7 seed, l. to Sugiyama 64 67(8) 75, having rallied from 64 52 down and saving mp in second set tie-break, then leading 3-0 and 4-2 third set before falling).
APRIL - Dropped opener at Amelia Island (as No.3 seed, l. to qualifier Sprem in 3s).
MAY - Withdrew from Berlin, Rome, Istanbul and Roland Garros w/right heel stress fracture.
JUNE - Withdrew from 's-Hertogenbosch w/right heel stress fracture; fell 2r at Wimbledon (as No.10 seed, l. to Kleybanova in 3s).
PERSONAL
Currently coached by Angel Jimenez; travels with various coaches from Barcelona's Casal/Sánchez Academy; fitness trainer is Marco Panici ... All-court game; favorite surface is grass; favorite tournament is Wimbledon ... Formerly coached by Nigel Sears; trained at Bollettieri Academy between ages 16 and 18 ... Father, Igor, is a computer scientist; mother, Marianna, is a toxicologist; older brother, Igor, is an architect working in Bratislava ... Qualified for top university in Slovakia but deferred it to pursue tennis ... Speaks Slovak, English, German; learning Spanish ... Studied classical piano between ages 6 and 14 ... Interests include skiing, ice skating, roller blading, swimming, jet skiing, cooking ... Favorite foods are sushi, seafood; favorite dessert is crêpes with nutella; favorite drink is hot chocolate ... Favorite song is 'One' by U2 & Mary J. Blige; favorite actors are Brad Pitt and George Clooney ... Favorite designers are Armani, Cavalli, Dior and Missoni ... Favorite city is Rome and likes to visit Cape Town, South Africa ... Admires athletes Roger Federer, Pete Sampras, Michael Jordan and Michael Schumacher.
AWARDS
- Alongside Ivanovic, featured in Sony Ericsson's first tennis-themed TV ad, 'Never Miss A Shot', in July 2006.
- Featured in January 2005 issue of Italian Vogue magazine.
- Awards received include 2002 Tour Most Improved Player of the Year and 2006 Fan Favorite Doubles Team w/Sugiyama (presented at Stars for Stars in Miami on March 21, 2006); also nominated for Laureus World Sports Award as 2002 World Newcomer of the Year (fellow nominees included David Nalbandian).
- Tour mentor was Martina Navratilova in the Partners for Success program, the mentor division of the Tour's Professional Development Program.
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