Re: Klemenchits twins
SALZBURG, Austria - It was a sad day for the tennis world on Wednesday, as Daniela Klemenschits - who, along with twin sister Sandra Klemenschits, was diagnosed with a rare form of abdominal stomach cancer last January - passed away.
Last summer, the Klemenschits sisters made a plea for financial help as their treatment was becoming more and more expensive. The tennis world came together, beginning with ATP and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour stars like Justine Henin, Roger Federer, Amélie Mauresmo, Marat Safin, Martina Hingis, Ana Ivanovic and Daniela Hantuchova, Maria Sharapova, Rafael Nadal and Steffi Graf donating items for an auction on sonyericssonwtatour.com that raised $10,000. Players donated $50,000 out of their pockets and the Tour matched the auction earnings for a total of $70,000.
Unfortunately, the illness proved too much for 25-year-old Daniela, whose cancer was more advanced than Sandra's. On Wednesday night in Amelia Island, there was a moment of silence in memoriam prior to the night match between Lindsay Davenport and Jill Craybas.
The Klemenschits sisters are perhaps best-known for reaching the Istanbul final in 2005 and the Stockholm and Budapest semifinals later that year; they were an impressive force on the ITF Women's Circuit as well, winning 20 titles together.