===========
FIRST ROUND (Tuesday)
===========

* Daniela Hantuchová d. Magdalena Maleeva, 4-6 6-4 6-3

Daniela was 0-3 down in the third set, but took a toilet-break, then
produced a terrific comeback to reel off six games in a row. For all
the times in the past that Daniela has lost matches she ought to
have won, this was sweet poetic justice.

There is an insightful point-by-point report here (thanks to
Kimberley_82):
http://www.wtaworld.com/showpost.php?p=4959567

Ironically, Daniela had played doubles with Maggie on Monday!
* Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro/Selima Sfar [WC] d.
Daniela Hantuchová/Magdalena Maleeva [WC], 7-6 (7/4) 6-2

I had a strange dream about Daniela on Monday night. I dreamed she
was playing Vera Zvonareva in the first round (they've never met
each other in real life). Daniela was 4-1 up in the third set when
Vera started crying. When Daniela saw how upset Vera was, she
started crying herself, and choked away her lead. Both girls were
sobbing uncontrollably, and their tears flooded the court until the
entire stadium was submerged, and the players turned into two
cackling sharks!

============
SECOND ROUND (Wednesday)
============

I hoped Daniela would pull a stunt against Elena Bovina (who was
playing her first tournament after three months out with a left-foot
injury, but had taken out Dani's nemesis Shinobu Asagoe in the first
round) - I knew it would be a tough match, but I could well believe
it of her!

* Daniela Hantuchová d. ELENA BOVINA [6], 6-0 3-6 6-3

Another important step forward for Daniela, especially as Bovina
beat her 6-2 6-3 in Moscow last October. She does seem to be getting
closer to the Daniela of 2002, having left behind the thin emotional
shell of 2003, and the Daniela of 2004 who lacked confidence and
wasted countless opportunities.

Daniela: "I just had to go for my game and make my shots. I'm really
happy to be in the next round."

==============
QUARTER-FINALS (Thursday)
==============

I knew that Wimbledon 1994 champion Conchita Martínez would be a
real test of where Daniela's confidence is at right now, because
Martínez really messed up her rhythm with weird spins when they
played at the same stage of Eastbourne 2003.

* Daniela Hantuchová d. Conchita Martínez, 6-4 6-1

Martínez ran out of steam against a much quicker opponent. That's
what it said on Teletext (UK). I've always considered Daniela's
speed of movement to be a bit of a weakness, so this is really
saying something! :-)

Daniela was leading 5-4 when rain delayed her match for 200 minutes.
On the resumption, Daniela won six games in a row to lead 6-4 5-0,
and her emphatic victory over Martínez confirms her renewed
confidence.


This set up a mouthwatering match with Maria Sharapova - Maria's
third semi-final of the year (in as many tournaments) but Daniela's
first since Eastbourne 2004.

Daniela: "I feel like I'm playing really well right now. I've had
some good matches and I'm feeling confident. After the rain-delay, I
was able to keep her off-balance, and felt great about taking a 5-0
lead. I'm really happy about how I closed it out and hope I can
bring this confidence into the semis against Sharapova.

"It's been a good start for me this season. I worked very hard in
the off-season. My confidence is back. I am looking forward to
playing Maria. I know it'll be a tough match, but I am ready for it."

Maria: "I'll definitely be prepared for a tough battle, but I feel
up to the challenge."

My prediction was that Maria would win 7-5 7-6 (7/3).

Who did I want to win this time? Either way, one of my players would
be in the final! :-) Maria was always going to be more likely to win
the title for me, but it would be more special for Daniela to reach
the final with the scalp of the Wimbledon champion, so maybe I had a
slight preference for Daniela this time. I just wanted both girls to
take the motto of my old headmaster on board: "Look your best, do
your best, and BE your best."

==========
SEMI-FINAL (Friday)
==========

"`Please,' she said, `you're so beautiful. You may eat me if you
like. I'd sooner be eaten by you than fed by anyone else.'"
[Hwin to Aslan in C.S. Lewis's _The Horse and his Boy_]


* MARIA SHARAPOVA [2] d. Daniela Hantuchová, 6-2 6-4

The pattern of this mouthwatering match was to have long deuce-games
on Daniela's serve, while Maria held serve easily. But it wasn't
really a case of missed opportunities for Daniela - instead, she had
to save a lot of break-points against her. Daniela put up a good
fight in the second set, but Maria is just too good and too ruthless!

I didn't see the match myself (not having access to Eurosport), so I
followed it on the Internet at the following sources:
http://www.ebolibet.com/tennislive.htm (point-by-point scores)
http://www.wtaworld.com/showthread.php?t=153519&page=18 (scores
thread)

After rain delayed play for hours and hours, the match finally
started at 23:07 Qatar time (20:07 GMT).

---------
First Set
---------

Hantu 0-0: 0/15, 15/15, 40/15, held
Shara 0-1: 15/0, 30/15, 30/30, 40/30, 40/40, ad H (BP), Deuce #2,
ad S, held

Terrific resistance from Daniela early on.

Hantu 1-1: 15/15, 30/40 (BP), 40/40, ad S (BP), ad Deuce #2, ad S
(BP #2), Deuce #3, ad S (BP #3), Deuce #4, ad S (BP #4), Deuce #5,
ad S (BP #5), broken

What a game! At least it wasn't Daniela wasting opportunities yet
again. ;-)

Shara 2-1: 40/0, 40/15, held

I hope for Daniela's sake that Maria isn't going to run away with
this after that long game. On the other hand, a long match might not
favour Maria in the final with her fitness-levels being suspect
after her illness and she would only have until 17:30 on Saturday to
recover...

Hantu 1-3: 0/15, 15/15, 15/30, 30/30, 30/40 (BP), 40/40, ad S
(BP #2), Deuce #2, ad S (BP #3), Deuce #3, ad S (BP #3), broken
Shara 4-1: held to love

Maria holds serve easily, then puts so much pressure on Daniela's.

Hantu 1-5: 15/0, 15/15, 15/30, 30/30, 40/30, held
Shara 5-2: 30/0, 30/15, 30/30, 30/40 (BP), 40/40, ad H (BP #2),
Deuce #2, ad S (SP), Maria won first set 6-2 at 23:51.

----------
Second Set
----------

Hantu 0-0: 15/0, 15/15, 40/15 -> 40/40, ad H, Deuce #2, ad H, held
Shara 0-1: 15/0, 15/15, 30/15, 40/30, held
Hantu 1-1: 15/0, 15/15, 30/15, 40/15, held for 2-1

A commendable effort for Daniela early in this set. At least she's
got as many games as she did at Wimbledon! :-o

Shara 2-1: 0/15, 15/15, 30/15, 40/15, 40/30, held
Hantu 2-2: 15/0, 15/15, 15/40 (2 BPs) -> 40/40, ad H, held

What a fightback by Daniela! She saved the two break-points with
service-winners, then another good serve to set up a forehand winner
down the line, and a drop-volley to finish
<http://www.wtaworld.com/showthread.php?t=153519&page=24>.

Shara 2-3: 0/15, 15/15, 30/15, 30/30, 40/30, held
Hantu 3-3: 0/15, 15/15, 15/30, 30/30, 40/30, 40/40, ad S (BP), Deuce
#2, ad H, held

Maria definitely has a fight on her hands in this second set! :-)

Shara 3-4: 0/15, 15/15, 30/15, 30/30, 40/30, held
Hantu 4-4: 15/0, 15/15, 15/30, 30/30, 30/40 (BP), 40/40, ad H, Deuce
#2, ad H, Deuce #3, ad H, Deuce #4, ad S (BP #2), broken for 4-5

And therein lies the difference between the two. Daniela missed
three game-points, then Maria got a break-point and she took it.
It's funny how, when you're serving, the points in the deuce-court
are often so much easier to win than the points in the ad-court.

Now Maria will serve for the match, just as she did at 6-2 5-4
against Serena Williams at the Australian Open...

Shara 5-4: 0/15, 15/15, 30/15, 40/15 (2 MPs), 40/30, Maria won 6-2
6-4 at 24:40.

------
Quotes
------

Maria: "I am excited to be in the final. I am happy with my game and
form and I am looking forward to playing Alicia in the final. I am
confident that I will play well."

Daniela: "It was pretty tough going on the court so late. My
reaction time was a little slow but I'm not going to make excuses. I
didn't take my chances. I didn't play the way I've been playing. If
I had, the scoreline would have been a bit different."

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

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