Anna Chakvetadze Biography
Birthplace: Moscow, Russia
Height: 5 ft 7 1/2 in (1.71 m)
Plays: Right-Handed
Turned Pro: 2003
Russian player Anna Djambulilovna Chakvetadze was born on March 5th 1987 in Moscow and she also has Georgian roots. She speaks both Russian and English.
She began playing tennis at the age of 8 years-old after her mother Natalia introduced her to the sport and she travels with her father Djambuli.
Chakvetadze reached the finals of Junior Wimbledon in 2003 but lost to the Belgian player Kirsten Flipkens in three sets, the same year she won the International Bavarian Junior Challenge beating Marta Domachowska of Poland.
She made her debut on the ITF circuit in 2001 in Minsk, Belarus losing in the first round, but she won her first ITF title in Istanbul when she won the Women's Doubles with fellow Russian Irina Kotkina.
In the 2004 US Open she won all her matches in the qualifying competition to reach the main draw of her first Grand Slam singles. She reached the third round by beating World Number 3 Anastasia Myskina in straight sets but went on to be beaten by the Greek player Eleni Daniilidou. However she equalled Serena Williams' record as the fastest player to beat a World Top 10 player in WTA history.
Chakvetadze has yet to win a Grand Slam singles title but she came closest to achieving her dream in 2007 when she reached the Quarter Finals of the Australian and French Opens and the Semi Finals of the US Open.
In her career she has won 1 ITF Title and 8 WTA Titles and as of November 1st 2010 she is ranked 56 in the world. 2011 has started badly for the Russian player as she lost in the first round at Brisbane, Hobart and Melbourne in the Australian Open.
Her preparations for the 2011 Australian Open were a bit different to the preparations for the 2008 tournament. On Tuesday December 18th 2007 she was due to fly to Hong Kong to get ready for the Australian heat, but in the early hours of that morning the house she shared with her parents in Moscow was burgled.
Six masked robbers broke into the house in South West Moscow and stole money, jewellery and rubles worth approximately $306,000. They climbed over the fence and tied up a maid in another building.
They forced her to hand over a remote control which enables them to enter the Chakvedadze's house through the garage. Anna was tied up and her parents robbed. Her father was pistol-whipped and suffered bruises to his scalp, cheek and forehead.
Instead of going to Hong Kong she remained in Russia in temperatures of minus 15 degrees being comforted by friends and relatives. She did manage to go to Melbourne to try and forget the ordeal but admitted it had not been the best preparation for a Grand Slam.
It made Chakvedadze more aware of the darker side of modern Russia and the ongoing drive to stop match-fixing there.
She is coached by Cristian Kordasz and has a younger brother Roman. When she is not on the tour she attends Moscow University and she relaxes by reading detective novels and likes to spend time with her friends.
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