Hantuchova on her inspiration Miloslav Mecir: "The first time I met him, I was overwhelmed and embarrassed all at once"

Two-time Indian Wells winner and former World No.5 Daniela Hantuchova selected Miloslav Mecir, the 1988 Olympic Gold medalist as her inspiration in a brand new series started by the WTA.

Hantuchova spoke in a detailed interview with David Kane about what he meant to her as a player who she began watching growing up; then as a result, a player who came into her playing career until the end.

"The biggest inspiration of my career was the reason I began playing tennis in the first place. In 1988, Miloslav Mecir won the Olympic gold medal; for what was back then, Czechoslovakia. I was five years old, and it was the first time I saw tennis on TV. That same day, I asked my parents if they could buy me a tennis racquet; so that one day I, too, could make it to the Olympics," said Hantuchova.

"I remember once I got the racquet and his photo; I slept with both beside me for a good couple of years, and I never stopped listening to “Hand in Hand,” the official song from the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul.

From then on, all I wanted to do was to one day make it to the Olympics. That dream never left my mind and I never stopped believing that it would happen. The reason why I practised for seven or eight hours a day; did everything I could in the gym, even how I studied in school; I just wanted to be the best. That Olympic dream transferred to all parts of my life."

She continued: "The first time I met him, I was overwhelmed and embarrassed all at once. I couldn’t even go up and speak to him. My father took me to the club where he was practicing, which was coincidentally where my grandmother also used to play; because I wanted was to have his signature in my diary. I stayed behind the fence because I didn’t have the courage to step onto the same court as him.

Over the years, we became really good friends. He ended up becoming the coach for the Slovakian Olympic tennis team; which made achieving my dream of finally making it to the Olympics three times all the more special. My last Olympics was in London, and so I got to play on Wimbledon’s Centre Court with him in my Player’s Box. I almost started to cry at how perfectly my dream had come true."

"There was a grace to how he moved about the court, and how intelligent he was. He played with a calmness that he brings to everything he does; when I watched him work as a Davis Cup captain, he looked so peaceful in the middle of such a raucous atmosphere that I almost thought he was about to fall asleep! On the court, he wasn’t the biggest hitter but he really played each match like a chess game, and that’s what inspired me."

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