My Fantasy Girlfriend - Daniela Hantuchova

I confessed in my 'I love tennis' post a year ago that a large part of my burgeoning fascination with the game as a pre-teen probably had to do with the timeless appeal of cute young women in white mini-dresses.

I insist, however, that my weakness for players like the lovely Ms Hantuchova above, is not just about sex, it's about the way they play the game. Well, I can't honestly say that I've seen Daniela play very much (she always seems to crash out of Wimbledon in the early rounds, before I've really started paying attention), and perhaps I delude myself because she is so gosh-darned pretty, but..... I like to believe that her style of play harks back to an earlier era, when the women's game was characterized more by accuracy than brute power, by variety of shot-making rather than brute power, by nimbleness around the court rather than brute power.

At some point in the mid- or late 70s, we suffered the 'Big Shoulders' Event Horizon. The sexiest player of that era was the sultry Argentinian, Gabriela Sabatini. When the dauntingly man-like Martina Navratilova came on the scene and started winning everything, many of the other ladies started working out manically to try to redress the power gap that had suddenly opened up. Gaby developed really big shoulders, seemingly overnight; really big shoulders are just not attractive in a woman, I find. That was a very sad day in my teenage life.

At least Navratilova deserves some credit for injecting a serve-and-volley element into the women's game. The other gym-junkies who tried to keep up with her became even more anchored to the baseline. Long baseline rallies can sometimes have moments of greatness; but when that's all there is to the game, it can get a little dull. There were a few exceptions in the 70s and 80s: Evonne Goolagong and Hana Mandlikova thrilled with the impetuous creativity of their all-court game. I remember Hana humbled Navratilova in a Wimbledon quarter-final or semi-final one year in the early 80s, running her ragged with an exquisite collection of improvised lobs and drop-shots.

Is the Slovakian beauty the inheritor of that thrilling tradition? Well, perhaps not. But a man can dream.

She is, I think, the best-looking player around today (although there are quite a few rather appealing Eastern European lasses on the circuit just now). She's very tall (nearly 5'11", according to most of the fan sites; 6', according to one of them!). She has the most amazing legs. And I gather she's also a pretty smart cookie - managed to finish high school with excellent grades, despite the tennis career, and was offered a place at a leading Slovakian university. And she's an accomplished classical pianist!

You see, I don't go just for looks.

Although it has to be said that she does 'scrub up well' in evening dress.

And she does have the most ridiculously pretty eyes.

Now, if only she could get her game together enough to start winning a few tournaments.....