So I headed to see Ashley Harkleroad play Daniela Hantuchova. I'd
seen both of them play doubles and they'd been noticeably the best
players on court in their respective matches, so this looked the pick
of the matches that were up first.


For the record:
Daniela Hantuchova bt Ashley Harkleroad 6-7, 7-5, 6-3
This was a cracker. 6 breaks in the first set; Harkleroad up 4-0 in
the second; Hantuchova gets going, looks a certain winner; Harkleroad
ups her level in the third; at a set all and 3-3 I wondered about a
monster 3rd set. That wasn't to be, but it took nearly 3 hours for
Hantuchova to win and she definitely deserved it. I picked the right
match, Tommy Haas won his easily.

There was a real contrast in the emotional states of the two players-
Hantuchova needed to be behind to get aggressive and play her best.
She was emotionally inexpressive-during the game all we got were fist
clenches (not pumps); once, on a crucial point, it was a double
clench. I think she needs her doubles partner to consistently get the
best of her. It seems Ashley needs her doubles partner to keep her on
an even keel: we had racket throwing, towels snatched off ball kids
and a drama queen ending. She let her racket fall to the ground and
then the tears started-she clearly thought she was a lot closer to
winning than she was. Given her behaviour, which cost her the crowd,
it amused me that Ricky Ponting is Ashley's president.

You do worry a bit for Hantuchova-I remember hearing at Wimbledon one
year that she'd been struggling emotionally to refute reports of
anorexia, bulimia or both. She won't be the only player to have lied
about her weight on her biog (I met an Aussie, who reckoned Serena
was 15-20 kg more than the programme said), but I doubt any other
player is saying she weighs more than she actually does. You really
do want to feed her-her legs are smaller than other folk's arms

Still she made it through a long match, so what do I know. So,
Harkleroad stopped crying, Hantuchova went for some lunch (I hope)
and I was off to Margaret Court for some Mardy Fish, great name, but
no accompanying tantrum.