Daniela sent the talented and sexy Barbara Schett into retirement
with a tennis-masterclass to win 6-4 6-0 after having been 2-4 down
in the first set. Daniela hit 41 winners and 6 aces.

However, the final scoreline does not do justice to Babsi's fighting
spirit (four of the games in the second set were very tight), nor to
Daniela's all-too-familiar squandering of opportunities in the first
set. The score in points was only 89-70 to Daniela.

After the match, Babsi announced her immediate retirement at the age
of 28:
"I have thoroughly enjoyed playing professional tennis, and I feel
very fortunate to have been involved in such a wonderful sport."

I followed live score-updates at www.australianopen.com. The match
started at 12:44 AEST (01:44 GMT).

---------
FIRST SET
---------

Babs 0-0: 0/30 -> 30/30, 40/30, held

Don't tell me this is going to be one of Daniela's frustrating days
of missed opportunities! :-||

Dani 0-1: 30/0, 30/15, 40/15 -> 40/40, ad Dani, held
Babs 1-1: 0/15, 15/15, 15/40 (2 BPs) -> 40/40, ad Dani (BP #3),
Deuce #2, ad Babs, held

Dear oh dear... can't Daniela be hypnotised or something to make her
play without regard to the score?

Flair and freedom, that's what I want to see, flair and freedom...
winning is secondary. Play to win, don't play not to lose.

Dani 1-2: 40/0 -> 40/40, ad Dani, held

For one horrible minute I thought Daniela was suffering a bout
of "Alexandra Stevenson's syndrome". Stevenson was twice broken by
Daniela after leading 40/0 at Eastbourne 2003.

Babs 2-2: 15/0, 15/15, 30/15, 30/30, 40/30, 40/40, ad Dani (BP),
Deuce #2, ad Dani (BP #2), Deuce #3, ad Babs, Deuce #4, ad Babs, held

Good resistance from Daniela to keep pegging Babsi back, but two
more wasted break-points.

Dani 2-3: 15/0, 15/15, 15/40 (2 BPs), 30/40, broken
Babs 4-2: 0/15, 15/15, 15/30, 30/30, 30/40, broken
Dani 3-4: 30/0 -> 30/30, 30/40 (BP), 40/40, ad Dani, Deuce #2,
ad Dani, held

Kudos to Daniela for breaking back immediately like a great
champion, and for surviving another difficult service-game.

Babs 4-4: 30/0, 30/15, 40/15 -> 40/40, ad Dani (BP), Deuce #2, ad
Dani (BP #2), Deuce #3, ad Babs, Deuce #4, ad Dani (BP #3), broken

YAY! :-)

Dani 5-4: 30/0, 30/15, 40/15 (2 SPs), Daniela won first set 6-4 at
13:35.

Daniela converted 2/10 BPs (Babsi 1/3), and hit 23 winners to 18
unforced errors (Babsi's W:UE = 10:15).

----------
SECOND SET
----------

Babs 0-0: 15/0, 15/15, 30/15, 30/30, 40/30, 40/40, ad Babs, Deuce
#2, ad Babs, Deuce #3, ad Dani (BP), Deuce #4, ad Dani (BP #2),
Deuce #5, ad Dani (BP #3), Deuce #6, ad Dani (BP #4), broken

Winning a long game like that could really set the tone for this
second set! :-) It will be very difficult for Babsi to fight back in
the Australian heat, even with the end of her career on the line.

Dani 1-0: 0/15, 15/15, 40/15, held
Babs 0-2: 0/15, 15/15, 30/15, 40/30, 40/40, ad Dani (BP), Deuce #2,
ad Dani (BP #2), Deuce #3, ad Babs, Deuce #4, ad Babs, Deuce #5,
ad Dani (BP #3), broken for 0-3.

If that doesn't extinguish Babsi's chances or even her will to
fight, I don't know what will.

Dani 3-0: 15/0, 15/15, 30/15, 30/30, 30/40 (BP), 40/40, ad Dani,
Deuce #2, ad Dani, held

A commendable effort from Babsi still, but surely it's too far back
now. But I'm suddenly reminded of the Australian Open 2002 final
where Martina Hingis led by a set and 4-0 in the hottest conditions
imaginable, yet it was she who wilted and Jennifer Capriati who got
a second wind and won the title.

Babs 0-4: 0/30, 15/40 (2 BPs) -> 40/40, ad Dani (BP #3), Deuce #2,
ad Dani (BP #4), Deuce #3, ad Dani (BP #4), broken

"You have fought bravely - worthy of recognition in the Jedi
archives. Now, it is finished."
[Count Dooku in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones]

Dani 5-0: 40/0 (3 MPs: career-points for Barbara Schett), 40/15.
Daniela won 6-4 6-0 at 14:10. Game, Schett and match Miss Hantuchová.

Babsi: "I was not very emotional until she had match-point. Then
suddenly I had tears in my eyes. I just suddenly realised that."

Daniela won the second set 40-26 in points.

Daniela hit a brilliant 41 winners to only 28 unforced errors
(Babsi's W:UE was 16:32).

Daniela hit 6 aces, including the final point of the match. She got
61% of first serves in (Babsi 52%), winning 83% of the points when
she did so (Babsi 57%), and 32% of the points where she had to hit a
second serve (Babsi 39%).

Commendable service-statistics for Daniela, but again they suggest
that she needs to go for more on her second serve (only one double-
fault today).

Daniela broke five times from 23 break-points, Babsi once from 4
BPs. So Daniela created many more opportunities for herself than did
her opponent today, but she converted a slightly lower percentage of
these opportunities. Had Daniela broken in every game in which she
had break-points, she would have won 6-1 6-0.

Clearly Daniela has the talent - and today also the luck - to
succeed, but there are still major question-marks over her
temperament.

In the third round she will play Elena Dementieva, who thrashed Anna
Chakvetadze 6-2 6-1 to suggest that she will be as big a threat to
Daniela as she would have been without the heat-illness.

Photos:
http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news/?c=news_photos&p=hantuchova
http://www.wtaworld.com/showthread.php?t=147032&page=3
http://editorial.gettyimages.com/MS_GINS/source/home/home.aspx?pg=1
(search for "hantuchova")

Daniela won her first round of the women's doubles with her
promising young partner Martina Navrátilová. They beat Maria
Fernanda Alves and Vanessa Henke (alternates for top seeds Nadia
Petrova and Meghann Shaughnessy) 6-1 6-3, and will play Trudi
Musgrave and Christina Wheeler in the second round.

--
Dr. Andrew Broad
http://www.geocities.com/andrewbroad/
http://www.geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/
http://www.geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/hantu/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/danielahantuchova/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jeldani/