Nicole Vaidisova

• Date of birth: Apr 23, 1989
• Birthplace: Nurnberg, Germany
• Residence: Prague, Czech Republica
• Height:  6' (1.83m)
• Weight: 139 lbs. (63 kg)
• Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
• Turned Pro: 2003

• Nicole Vaidisova Gallery
• Nicole Vaidisova News
• Nicole Vaidisova Match results

Nicole Vaidisova (born April 23, 1989) is a Czech female tennis player.

Vaidisova is a star in women's tennis and has been playing since she was six years old. She is a student of Nick Bollettieri and trains at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Her serve is considered her biggest weapon.[1] As of January 14, 2008, Vaidišová ranks #12 in the WTA rankings. On August 9, 2006, she ranked #9, becoming the 12th-youngest player in Tour history to crack the top 10, at an age of 17 years, three months and two weeks. She achieved a career-high ranking of No. 7 on May 14, 2007.

Vaidisova is a face of Reebok and has been featured in their "I Am What I Am" and "Run Easy" campaigns. She also endorses Citizen Watch Co., Ltd and its Eco-Drive design. An avid reader, Vaidisova is part of the "Get Caught Reading Campaign" to encourage people to read more. She has taken part in other philanthropic causes, such as becoming an ambassador for PlayPumps International, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing clean drinking water to African children. She is represented by Olivier van Lindonk of IMG.

Personal 

Vaidisova is coached by her stepfather, Alex Kodat, and is working with physiotherapist David Hogarth. She was introduced to tennis by her mother, Riana. She has two younger brothers, Oliver and Toby. Vaidisova follows the NHL and enjoys reading, watching movies, yoga and bike riding. She likes pop music and is a fan of Madonna. She lists New York City as her favorite city because of its constant activity. Vaidisova speaks Czech, English, German and is studying French. She is currently dating ATP tennis player Radek Stepanek.

Career

Vaidisova debuted strongly in the 2003 season by reaching three consecutive finals: won $10K ITF/Plzen-CZE, her only event in 2003, without dropping a set.

2004

In 2004, Vaidisova finished the season as a top 100 player. As a qualifier at only her third Tour main draw at inaugural Vancouver, Vaidisova became the sixth-youngest singles champion in Tour history at an age of 15 years, three months and 23 days. She also became the lowest-ranked player (No. 180) and second qualifier (of three) to win a title in 2004. Vaidisova won her second title of the year at Tashkent, defeating Virginie Razzano in the final. On October 18, she made her top 100 debut at No. 74, becoming the youngest player in the top 100 at the time.

Later in the season, Vaidisova reached the quarterfinals at the Japanese Open in Tokyo, defeating No. 29 Tatiana Golovin in three sets en route for her career-best win, before losing to Klara Koukalova. Vaidisova made her Grand Slam debut at the U.S. Open, losing to defending champion and world No. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne, 6–1, 6–4, in the first round. She won ITF/Columbus, OH-USA at the start of the season and reached her then career-high No. 72 singles ranking on November 1.

Vaidisova finished the year with two WTA titles and a win-loss record of 31-8.

2005

In early January, Vaidisova reached her first quarterfinal of the season in Hobart, by defeating Tatiana Perebiynis and Dinara Safina before losing to Iveta Benesova. Vaidisova picked up her first Grand Slam singles victory in her Australian Open debut, by reaching the third round with victories against Maria Vento-Kabchi and Jelena Kostanic. She subsequently fell to top seed Lindsay Davenport. Following the tournament, Vaidisova jumped in the rankings from No. 70 to No. 57.

In April, at the Family Circle Cup, Vaidisova made her top 50 debut at No. 47 and reached her first career Tier I quarterfinals at Charleston, saving two match points in a first round victory over qualifier Shahar Pe'er. She then posted her first top 10 victory over defending French Open champion Anastasia Myskina, before also defeating Shinobu Asagoe in three sets. Vaidisova then fell to Patty Schnyder in the quarterfinals, making her top 40 debut at No. 34 on April 18.

In May, Vaidisova reached her first Tier III final in Istanbul, losing to top seed Venus Williams in the championship match. She made her debut at Roland Garros, defeating Lucie Safarova in the first round before falling to No. 22 seed Francesca Schiavone in the next round.

In August, Vaidisova reached the quarterfinals at Toronto, by defeating Shenay Perry, Nathalie Dechy and Hana Sromova before losing to Justine Henin-Hardenne. Her ranking continued to improve, jumping from No. 32 to No. 27 on August 22.

In September, at the 2005 U.S. Open, Vaidisova reached the fourth round for the first time at a Grand Slam event, by defeating Kveta Peschke, Zheng Jie and qualifier Ivana Lisjak before losing to Nadia Petrova.

Vaidisova ranking improved following the U.S. Open, going from No. 28 to a career-high No. 23 on September 12. She captured her first title of 2005 (and third of her career) at Seoul, defeating top seed Jelena Jankovic in the final without dropping a set during the week. She moved to a career-best No. 21 at the start of October.

In that month, Vaidisova captured her second straight Tour singles title at Tokyo (Japan Open), winning when Tatiana Golovin retired, while trailing, 7–6(4), 3–2, due to left Achilles tendinitis in the final. On October 10, Vaidisova made her top 20 debut at No. 18 and extended her winning streak to 15 matches, by winning her third consecutive Tour singles title and fifth of her career; she beat Conchita Martinez and Gisela Dulko en route to the final, then overcame a 4–2 third-set deficit to defeat Nadia Petrova for the first time, 6–1, 6–7(5) 7–5, in the final.

With the Seoul, Tokyo and Bangkok titles, Vaidisova became the first player since Lindsay Davenport in 2004 to win three titles in three weeks, and also became the sixth woman to win five Tour singles titles before her 17th birthday (after Tracy Austin, Andrea Jaeger, Monica Seles, Jennifer Capriati and Martina Hingis). On October 17, she improved her ranking from No. 18 to No. 17, another career-high.

2006

Vaidisova captured her sixth WTA title at the Tier III event in Strasbourg. In June, she made a semifinal run at the French Open, her best Grand Slam performance to date. She defeated world No. 1 and home favorite Amelie Mauresmo, 6–7, 6–1, 6–2, in the fourth round and Venus Williams, 6–7, 6–1, 6–3, in the quarterfinal. However, she lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the next round, 7–5, 6–7, 2-6; Vaidisova was only two points away from victory several times. At the Wimbledon Championships, she got to the fourth round before losing to Li Na. Vaidisova fourth round appearance meant that she has advanced to the Round of 16 or better in each of the four Grand Slam tournaments.

In July, Vaidisova went 2–0 during the Czech Republic's 3–2 Fed Cup World Group Play-offs loss to France. She reached the semifinal on her debut in Stanford, losing, 7–5, 6–2, to Kim Clijsters. Vaidisova reached her career-first Tier I semifinal in San Diego, losing to Clijsters again. After her success in San Diego, Vaidisova moved from No. 12 to No. 9, her first career top 10 debut, becoming the 12th-youngest player in Tour history to crack the top 10, at an age of 17 years, three months and and two weeks.

At the U.S. Open, Vaidisova made it to the third round, but lost to Jelena Jankovic, who later made it to the semifinal. In Beijing, she lost in the second round to Ai Sugiyama after a first round bye.

Vaidisova defeated Amelie Mauresmo for the second time at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, after rallying from 1–6, 2–5 down and three match points, in their quarterfinal match. However, she lost to Nadia Petrova for a third time in their four meetings in the semifinal afterwards.

Vaidisova finished the year ranked #10, the first time she has ended the year in the top 10.

2007

Vaidisova reached the semifinals of the Tier II Medibank International in Sydney, Australia. She beat Daniela Hantuchova, Yuliana Fedak and Ana Ivanovic (for the first time), before falling to Jelena Jankovic, 6–4, 4–6, 6–4.

At the Australian Open in Melbourne, Vaidisova reached her second Slam semifinal by defeating Jill Craybas, Milagros Sequera, Katarina Srebotnik, Elena Dementieva and Lucie Safarova. She was beaten in the semifinal by the eventual champion, Serena Williams, 7–6, 6–4.

At the Tier II Open Gaz de France, Vaidisova was the fifth seed. She lost in round 16 to Lucie Safarova, 6–4, 6–2. In March, she had a successful run at Indian Wells, losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova at the quarterfinal in three sets, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4.

At the 2007 French Open, Vaidisova, seeded sixth, was defeated in the quarters by fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic, 6–3, 7–5.

In her first grass tournament of the season, the International Women's Open in Eastbourne, England, Vaidisova lost in the quarterfinals to world number one Justine Henin, 6–2, 6–2, in just under one hour. At the Wimbledon Championships, Vaidisova lost to Ana Ivanovic 4–6, 6–2, 7–5, in the quarterfinals, after failing to convert three match points. She had earlier dismissed the reigning champion and fourth seed Amelie Mauresmo in the fourth round.

Vaidisova was the out for two months after Wimbledon, due to glandular fever and signed up for several tournaments before withdrawing. She returned at the U.S. Open, where she lost to Shahar Pe'er in an epic third round match, 4–6, 6–3, 6–7(5).

Vaidisova next event was the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, where she was the #8 seed. She had defeated Russians Yaroslava Shvedova and Elena Vesnina in straight sets before losing to fourth-seeded Serena Williams in the quarters with a score of 6–4, 7–6(7).

Next week at Zürich, Vaidisova reached the semis, by defeating Katarina Srebotnik, world No. 3 Jelena Jankovic and Alyona Bondarenko all in straight sets. In semis, she faced world No. 1 Justine Henin, and despite coming back from 3–5 down in the third set, Vaidisova ended up losing, 3–6, 6–3, 7–5.

2008

Vaidisova made a positive start to 2008, reaching the semi-finals of the Medibank International in Sydney, including an impressive quarterfinal win over Jelena Jankovic.

Vaidisova entered the 2008 Australian Open full of confidence and breezed through her first two matches, with straight-set victories over Ioana Raluca Olaru of Romania and Australian Alicia Molik. She then defeated the 2000 Australian Open quarter-finalist Ai Sugiyama, 6–3, 6–4, in the third round. Defending champion Serena Williams ended Vaidisova's Australian Open campaign in the fourth round, 6–3, 6–4.

At the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, Vaidisova defeated Aiko Nakamura in the first round by a score of 6–3, 6-0, but lost in the second round to world No. 2 Ana Ivanovic, 6–4, 6–0. At the Pacific Life Open in the USA, Vaidisova, seeded number seven, lost in the second round to Australian Casey Dellacqua, 1–6, 6–3, 4–6.

source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Go Back