The fans are going gaga over the engagement and their compatibility. With almost daily articles especially from the Swiss press and Hingis’ & Stepanek’s own sound bites fielding queries about when they first met, proposed etc. to contend with, fans are already saying its taken that this will last for ever.
Firstly some things in perspective. Hingis has never been short of men in her life. She has had a string of known relationships, any unknown we wouldn’t know. From tennis players Alonso, Heuberger, Norman to ice hockey player Pavel Kubina, to golfer Garcia, lawyer Calkin and ski-instructor Stefan Egger just to name a few, she has had many past relationships.
Her recent statement that she always had Radek in her mind and never forgot him even when she was with other men, is both shocking and revealing. Shocking because its unkind and not sincere to her ex-boyfriends. For the record she also made statements in the past when she was with many of them, how special they were!
So either those statements were false or this one is. She could also be trying to charm and win over the skeptics. Indeed Radek will be the most happiest to read that he was always on her mind.
His parents have already been won over by her with both showering their blessings on the couple and eulogizing about their future daughter-in-law.
She did date him when aged 14, i read on the hingis.org forums.(i dont remember topic.)
Plus i remember an interview she was asked "do u think u will end up marrying a tennis pro?" and she said "i dont think so. but because of the circumstances its the easiest to date them" lol.
And now she is engaged to a tennis player!!! funny reversal from her statement...
She also said "it the same issues and understanding (abt her tennis life)" regarding dating/being with other tennis pros like Julian, Heuberger etc. Yet for those very reasons those relationships didnt last.
Quite confusion in her head in my opinion.
While this all sounds like a fairy tale, some glaring points about Radek remain. Firstly Radek is already 28, at 2 years older than Martina. He was 10 years on the tour since turning professional and his break through year was 2006 with him reaching the top ten in the world for the first time. (highest ranking number 8th) Only to injure his neck vertebra.
Career Review:
http://www.atptennis.com/5/en/players/playerprofiles/?playernumber=S694
Singles Record: 151 - 113
Singles Titles: 1
Doubles Record: 136 - 89
Doubles Titles: 12
Prize Money: $3,630,518
And he made his return from injury at the Adelaide International on Tuesday but was beaten in two sets 6-4 6-4 by Vince Spadea of the US in his first match of the round robin event. Stepanek has been the focus of media attention recently, after becoming engaged to Martina Hingis; Hingis's mother is Czech and the former world number one lived in Moravia for a short period as a child. Third-seeded Radek Stepanek will need to defeat Russian Evgeny Korolev in his next round-robin match to have a chance of progressing to the final eight. The 32-player Adelaide tournament is the first to try the ATP Tour's new round-robin format in 2007.
Hingis ex-boyfriends have all slid down their career paths after hooking up with her! Alonso, Heuberger, Norman got injured to see their fledging careers perish. Some call it the ‘curse of chucky’ cause of Hingis’ nickname ‘chucky’.
Tennis magazine already christened Hingis “the black widow” for her over riding bad luck bestowed on her lovers! While that is unkind there seems to be a grain of truth in it. The timing of the article was indeed a strange coincidence with her announcing her engagement to the Aussie media around the same time.
Already Radek dropped to number 19th in the ATP rankings. Curse working already!???
He has already contended he has some ‘ideas’ about fixing the wedding date and he could very well tell her and she will oblige. The wedding seems very much on the cards this year itself!
That would mean a grand wedding, party, honeymoon, media frenzy and a ton of distractions. There is also the possibility of an unplanned addition to the family album. And it has happened before on the tennis circuit. Recently Davenport has been visited by the stork and is all but retired now. If ‘it’ indeed happens Hingis will very retire for good. She has always said how much she would like to have a dream relationship plus children plus marriage.
She stands much to loose though on the career front if she really wants her second career to take off and fly. Winning the slams wont be a cake walk especially with other priorities.
Radek wont play too long, he is already said he might learn to ride her horses (“horses are noble animals”), ski with her and as at the Madrid WTA Masters he went as a coach too. Melanie has been glaringly absent. Hingis was all praises and made statements about how important his presence in Madrid was to the media.
Promptly she lost winning only 1 of 2 group matches. So the coaching didn’t work nor did his presence except as a disruption.
If he plans to quit and tour her around like Mr. Pierre-Yves Hardenne who thankfully doesn’t coach Justine, it might not serve her cause so well. Indeed for Justine her marriage meant a clear upswing in results. (factors included were her early marriage not the same age as martina is now, her own work ethic and tough guy coach Carlos. Radek, a lover first wont be able to be tough with her and push her). If the past is any indicator, Hingis wont fare as well. (She lost to Seles in the semis of Rolland Garros in 1998 after going out with her then beau Alonso for an overnight date)
Radek hasn’t much to look forward to professionally but Hingis does. Plus his coaching credentials can never match Melanie’s who knows & reads the game best. Plus she is hard driven something Hingis herself isn’t and Radek doesn’t appear to be either.
Also Radek proposed to Hingis before she could have any chance to change her mind or move on to someone else. Which she has done in the past. By her own admission she was surprised! Indeed everyone is if not shocked.
So now that the ‘ring of commitment’ is around her finger, she will have a hard time letting go. Perfect for Radek. I am not saying Radek has ulterior motives but the timing seems a little suspect.
And then there is the length of time they have known each other. 22 years is indeed long! She is now 26. 26-22 = 4. Hingis said she took a fancy/liking to him since age 4!!! He was 6 then. All I can say is wow, that early.
And seemingly they will be happy ever after.
Another of her ex’s the ski-instructor and restauranter Stefan Egger was known to her since age 7! And she was with him for a year before she dumped him for Sol Campbell. (He got to know through the media which is a shame)
So knowing a guy for long isn’t a factor at all.
Plus this story sounds to perfect for now. Perfect romance, proposal, ring, seems like a nice guy… etc etc. And since nothing in life is perfect, it could all wind up fast. Life as also in sports, the bigger and richer you are, the more you have to lose.
Give it another year or so. Most want this to end in the mould of Steffi-Agassi but Martina is no Steffi nor is Radek an Andre! Steffi & Agassi have indeed kept their lives under wraps. But Martina loves a good show off. And has been keen to show of her love interests in the past as well. In 2006 she was seen with Radek a lot. Radek to seems to enjoy the attention and globe-trotting shows and social graces. But it all has a prize as can be seen with other failed tennis romances notably Evert-Llyod (who toured around with her after marriage) and recently Hewitt-Clijsters.
And ever since I read about it I have a feeling something is wrong somewhere. Even if I get flak from fellow fans, I say my intuition tells me this will end sadly for Martina. This year will be good even the best. But I feel the next one wont be. Either ways her heart will break.
Hopefully it wont happen but not all wishes come true. I think she will marry, win a slam, get pregnant and retire soon. Braveheart Radek is really sticking his neck out too soon.
This poster has said:
being hingis' boyfriend = injured
being her husband = dead
http://www.deadspin.com/sports/martina-hingis/martina-hingis-set-to-marry-and-end-the-career-of-radek-stepanek-225205.php
Other thoughts from Tennisreporters.com
"The new year is about to ring in and it's almost as if there's false spring during the Down Under summer: love is in the air, with Martina Hingis and Radek Stepanek confirming their engagement, and Aussie Mark Philippoussis confirming that he has broken off his year-and-a-half long engagement to Florida's Alexis Barbara.
Hingis and Stepanek are, of course, thrilled. Of course, the sputtering Philippoussis says that he needs to focus more on his career now than his love life. He has little time left to make a major impact on tour, so maybe it was a good choice, but why is it that so often we hear athletes/celebrities say that they must sacrifice love for career?
Part of becoming successful in any pursuit is learning to become a fuller person and living a more expansive life. Sure, some maintain that every waking moment has to be about their career (that's what Ivan Lendl told Vania King), but look at the tennis players who have managed to flourish while still maintaining positive romantic relationships: Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Justine Henin-Hardenne are just a few that come to mind.
But enough of that. A quick prediction though on Hingis and Stepanek on court: the elation they are feeling that is emanating from their impending nuptials should aid them this year on court. But I suspect that Stepanek's results will fall off quicker than Hingis' will, simply because she is a more demanding person. That's not a criticism, but my guess is that it will take her a good decade before she can truly see herself in a 50-50 partnership."
http://www.tennisreporters.net/hingis_stepanek_123006.html
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