"We are a very normal couple."
After a hockey game Martina Hingis and Pavel Kubina were struck by cupids
arrow. Now the two spend every free minute with each other. Blick met with
the star of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
How did you meet Martina Hingis?
P.K: Martina often comes to the ice-rink in Tampa to our hockey games. After
one of the games we were introduced. We talk and and that is how things got
started.
You live in the same resort in Saddlebrook as Martina.
P.K: Yes. Our house are ten minutes walk away from each other.
Have you already played tennis with Martina?
P.K: Yes, I love tennis and I play often between seasons. I wanted to play
Martina and have no advantages - and naturally I clearly lost.
What do you like about Martina?
P.K: What I like best about her game is that she plays with her head and not
with power. Just like her life - that fascinates me.
What do you do when you both have free time together?
P.K: Nothing different to what any other normal couples do. We are a very
normal couple, we go out to dinner, shopping or we simply just go for a walk
and talk.
Has the height difference between you and Martina been a problem?
P.K: No problem. She is 1,70 and I am 1,94. That is really not that much of
a difference.
Ice hockey and Tennis - a common discussion topic?
P.K: We don't usually want to talk about our work. We usually have better
things to talk about and discuss.
Do you know any other professional tennis players apart from Martina?
P.K: I know some of the other Czech players that train near here in
Bradenton. They also often come here to Tampa to watch Ice hockey. They are
Petr Korda, Cyril Suk, David Rikl and Slava Dosedel.
You were a spectator in Key Biscayne. What other players do you particularly
like?
P.K: I admire Andre Agassi - for his playing style and the risks that he
takes.
The season has ended for you. How is it going after the operation on your
heel?
P.K: Good. The operation was luckily able to be done here locally. For next
season I need new skating shoes so that I don't get reoccurring problems
with my heel. Whether or not I am fit enough for the World Cup in May in St.
Petersburg is still not sure.