Unlike Sharapova, who was born in Russia but hasn't lived there for years, the 17-year-old still resides in Prague and says it will always be home.

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

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

Vaidisova made the Australian Open semi-finals Tuesday with a straight sets victory over compatriot Lucie Safarova and will now meet seven-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams.

While winning a Grand Slam is high on her wish list, her dream is to play for her country at the Olympics.

"I'm very proud to play for Czech Republic. I would love to play in the Olympics, I didn't get a chance last time."

The multilingual teenager, who speaks Czech, German, English and French, was actually born in Germany and lived there till she was six.

Introduced to tennis by her mother Riana around that time, she was sent to the Bollettieri academy to fine tune her skills after showing promise.

While insisting she is Czech through and through, she admits the American influence has rubbed off.

"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 mind."