The Electric New Paper, Singapore - The Electric New Paper Sports
LIKE Maria Sharapova, Nicole Vaidišová is a product of the Nick Bollettieri Academy in Florida and has developed an American accent.

But she bristles at suggestions she is no longer a true Czech.

Unlike Sharapova, who was born in Russia but hasn't lived there for years, Vaidisova still resides in Prague and says it will always be home.

'I think in every single sense I am Czech. Deep down, I'm Czech. Czech Republic is home for me,' she said.

'I try to go back to Prague as much as possible. That's home. Family is there. Everybody is there.'

In the days of Ivan Lendl and Martina Navrátilová, the public discourse on identity contained a mixture of pride at having famous Czechs which was all the time tinged with a disappointment at their possible alienation from their Czechness - exhibited by an American accent creeping into their Czech and their permanent residence in the US (in which, they didn't really have a choice given the political situation). But the recent statements by the up and coming Vaidišová are an important step towards making the player a true national hero. Of course, what she says about her identity is interesting in its own right.

'Of course, you get the thinking. You speak with them a lot. You get a mix of both. So you're definitely influenced by it a little bit, yeah, for sure,' said the Madonna fan. '(But) everywhere I have a Czech mind. It's not like when I go to Asia I try to change to my Asian mind, then I use my Australian mind.

'You feel the influence, so you have different points, maybe a little bit. You have different views, maybe more views because you see it from both sides.

'Yeah, I'm definitely influenced by America, but still keeping my one Czech identity.'