Daniela defied tendonitis in her right leg to cruise past Catalina
Castaño 6-4 6-3, despite failing to serve out both sets at 5-2.
Daniela was wearing a bandage on her right shin - as she also was on
Sunday when she beat Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3 in a one-set exhibition.

---------
First set
---------

Hantuch @* * *@__* 6
Castaño __* *__@*_ 4

Started 15:53 CEST.

Castaño serving 0-0: 0/15, 30/15, 30/30, 30/40 (BP), 40/40, ad C,
Deuce #2, ad D (BP #2), broken.
Daniela serving 1-0: held to love.

This is quite a refreshing change from the last two matches whose
live scores I followed, where Maria Sharapova and Vera Zvonarëva
both went 0-3 down from the start! But they both won in the end...
can Daniela?

Castaño serving 0-2: 0/15, 40/15, 40/30, held.
Daniela serving 2-1: 0/40 (3 BPs) -> 40/40, ad D, held.
Castaño serving 1-3: 30/0, 30/15, 40/15, held.
Daniela serving 3-2: 40/0, 40/15, held.
Castaño serving 2-4: broken to love.
Daniela serving for the first set at 5-2: 15/0, 15/40 (2 BPs),
broken.

Please don't choke now!

Castaño serving to stay in the first set at 5-3: 0/15, 40/15, held.
Daniela serving for the first set at 5-4: 40/0 (3 SPs), 40/30,
Daniela won the first set 6-4 at 16:36.

What a difference it makes when Daniela gets her first serve in! She
got 43% of first serves in in that set, winning 92% of the points
when she did so, and only 44% on second serve.

----------
Second set
----------

Hantuch _*@*@ @ @ 6
Castaño *____@ @_ 3

Castaño serving 0-0: 0/15, 30/15, 30/30, 40/30, 40/40, ad D (BP),
Deuce #2, ad C, held.

7 winners in that game! But only 3 of them were Daniela's.

Daniela serving 0-1: 15/0, 15/30, 40/30, held.
Castaño serving 1-1: 0/15, 15/15, 15/40 (2 BPs), 30/40, broken.
Daniela serving 2-1: 30/0, 30/15, 40/15, held.
Castaño serving 1-3: 0/15, 15/15, 15/40 (2 BPs), 30/40, broken.
Daniela serving 4-1: 0/15, 15/15, 15/30, 30/30, 30/40 (BP), broken.
Castaño serving 2-4: 30/0, 30/15, 40/15 -> 40/40, ad D (BP), Deuce
#2, ad C, Deuce #3, ad D (BP #2), Deuce #4, ad D (BP #3), broken.
Daniela serving for the match at 5-2: 0/40 (3 BPs), 30/40, broken.

Exactly the same situation as in the first set - Daniela really must
learn to serve out the set! :-(

Castaño serving to stay in the match at 3-5: 0/30, 15/30,
15/40 (2 MPs), Daniela won 6-4 6-3 at 17:26.


Daniela had a reasonable winner:unforced error ratio of 22:27, while
Castaño was surprisingly aggressive (considering what I remember
from her 0-6 1-6 thrashing by Martina Navrátilová at Wimbledon 2004)
with a W:UE of 19:26. Castaño was even at the net more than Daniela,
winning 6 points from 11 approaches while Daniela won 5 points from
7 at the net.

The statistics highlight the importance of Daniela's first serve:
she got 37% of first serves in, winning 84% of the points when she
did so, and only 41% on second serve (Castaño 44%, 61% and 31%).
Castaño served 6 aces and 5 double faults, while Daniela served two
of each.

Daniela broke Castaño's serve 6 times from 12 break-points, while
Castaño broke 3 times from 8 BPs.


This sets up a nasty third-round encounter with Kim Clijsters, who
was reportedly on the verge of pulling out with a knee-injury on the
eve of the tournament, yet has thrashed Meilen Tu 6-1 6-0 and
L'udmila Cervanová 6-2 6-1. I believe this latest injury is nothing
but a smokescreen to cover Clijsters' inability to win a Grand Slam
final and take the pressure off herself, and a win over Daniela
would definitely prove that this injury is... well it's not fair to
say "fake", but at least greatly exaggerated.

Clijsters is reportedly not allowed to perform the splits now, so
Daniela has to exploit this restriction by playing spreading rallies
to make Clijsters run from sideline to sideline.

From www.rolandgarros.com
>>>
Hantuchová is also dealing with an injury as she developed
tendonitis in her right leg last week. But she believes that she can
upend her friend if she doesn't give away too many points.

"I really have to stay focused against Kim. She's so powerful that
it will be hard, but if I do the right things, I have a chance."
<<<

Clijsters: "I think in my next round, I think Daniela won, she's a
great friend of mine. She's a very nice girl. You know, she's a
great player. I mean, she always fights, she always works hard, and
she's a very professional girl. I look forward to playing against
her. It's always a little bit of a different situation when you play
someone - I grew up with her as well in Juniors, so I know her
pretty well. She's a great girl."


The winner of Hantuchová v Clijsters would face an intriguing fourth-
round showdown against world number one Davenport (assuming that
Davenport beats Virginie Razzano). Davenport struggled past Katarina
Srebotnik 3-6 6-2 6-2 in the first round, and today was two points
from defeat as the young Selesian player Peng,Shuai served for the
match at 6-3 5-4 30/15. Unfortunately Davenport found that extra
gear in her back pocket, and won 3-6 7-6 (7/4) 6-0 to further
decrease the probability of Maria Sharapova becoming world number
one before she has to defend her first Wimbledon title.


Daniela starts her women's doubles campaign tomorrow: she and former
doubles world number one Ai Sugiyama, the seventh seeds, play
Jennifer Russell and Mara Santangelo in the first round on Court 6.

Daniela is also in the mixed-doubles draw, partnering the unorthodox
Selesian player Fabrice Santoro, who plays with two hands on both
sides like Monica Seles, but wins by confounding his opponents with
all sorts of weird spins. They play Bryanne Stewart and Todd Perry
in the first round.

Daniela's French Open profile:
http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/bios/ws/wtah394.html

--
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/