Hantuchova heads for top

The Indian Wells Masters was Hantuchova's first title

Daniela Hantuchova announced her arrival as a serious contender in women's tennis by taking her first tour title at Indian Wells.

BBC Sport Online's David Walmsley profiles the circuit's latest glamour girl.

Daniela Hantuchova has taken two major steps towards tennis stardom in as many months.

At January's Australian Open, she upstaged resident pin-up girl Anna Kournikova by contesting the women's doubles final in a little black cocktail dress.

And now - more significantly - she has shown she has the game to match the glamour by beating Martina Hingis to take her first WTA Tour title.

The Slovak teenager's confident 6-3 6-4 victory in Indian Wells confirmed the promise she has shown since joining the tour full-time last year.

I have a big serve, plus a good forehand and backhand

Daniela Hantuchova

Hantuchova already has two Grand Slam titles to her name at just 18 - not to mention a host of websites dedicated to her backhands and hemlines in equal measure.

She won the mixed doubles at both Wimbledon last year and at the Australian Open in January.

And she also reached the women's doubles final in Melbourne, partnering Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario against Hingis and Kournikova.

Now mastering Hingis in a straight fight has raised her ranking from 26 to 17 and taken her reputation to a new level in the singles game.

But Hantuchova has higher ambitions still.

Hantuchova challenged Kournikova in the style stakes in Melbourne

Her British coach, Nigel Sears, said: "Her goal is to end the year in the top 16.

"Some people think we are crazy but we have already made a great start to the year."

The daughter of a university professor and a toxicologist from Bratislava, Hantuchova began her tennis education aged six.

Coached initially by her grandmother, a former national champion, she quickly became one of the stars of the international junior circuit.

A contemporary of Kim Clijsters, Jelena Dokic and Elena Dementieva, she has taken longer to mature than those rivals.

But she is now gaining on them in leaps and bounds.

  Daniela Hantuchova

Date of birth: 23 April 1983

Birthplace: Poprad, Slovakia

Height: 1.81m

Weight: 56kg

World ranking: 26

Titles: Indian Wells Masters 2002, Australian Open (mixed doubles) 2002, Wimbledon (mixed doubles) 2001, Luxembourg (doubles) 2001, Bratislava (doubles) 2000

Standing almost six feet tall, the feisty, long-legged Hantuchova packs surprising power into her thin frame.

Her serve is rated as one of the best in the game, as much for its movement and variation as its raw speed.

"I have a big serve, plus a good forehand and backhand," she said. "I think I have a good all-round game."

Kournikova may have won the Australian doubles title at Hantuchova's expense.

But her looks continue to earn her more fame and fortune than her performances on court, costing her credibility as a serious contender.

Hantuchova's progress to date suggests that she can avoid a similar fate.