===============
AUSTRALIAN OPEN
(Melbourne, Australia; outdoor hard (Rebound Ace); Grand Slam)
=============== http://www.australianopen.com/

Photos:
http://www.wtaworld.com/showthread.php?t=210331&page=6
http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news/?c=news_photos&p=hantuchova
Search Getty Images for "hantuchova"

-----------
First round
-----------

+ DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [17] d. Saori Obata, 3-6 6-3 6-0

Daniela overcame a tooth-infection and last week's gastrointestinal
illness to win in a fashion that is becoming typical for her: one
sloppy set and two strong sets. It's a very encouraging sign of her
fitness and fighting-spirit that she has won all five of her three-
setters so far this year.

Having decided to sleep through the day-sessions in order to watch
BBCi's coverage of Melbourne's evening-sessions, I caught up with
the scores from the following threads:
http://www.wtaworld.com/showthread.php?t=213275&page=4
http://www.wtaworld.com/showthread.php?t=212723&page=2


First Set
---------
HANTU @*___*___ 3
OBATA __*@* *@* 6

The match started at 11:16 EST.

Obata serving 0-0: Deuce, broken.
Daniela serving 1-0: 30/30, 40/30, held.
Obata serving 1-1: 30/15, 40/30, 40/40, ad O, held.
Daniela serving 2-1: 15/0, 15/15, 15/40 (2 BPs), broken.

Daniela serving 2-3: 30/0, 30/15, 40/15 -> 40/40, ad O (BP), Deuce
#2, ad O (BP #2), Daniela saved it with an ace, Deuce #3, ad D, held.

Obata serving 3-3: Held to love. 3 errors from Daniela, but OBATA IS
ACTUALLY HITTING WINNERS!!!
Daniela serving 3-4: 0/15, 15/15, 15/30, 15/40 (2 BPs), broken.

Obata serving for the first set at 5-3: 30/0, 30/15, 40/15 (2 SPs)
-> 40/40, ad D (BP), Deuce #2, ad O (SP #3), Deuce #3, ad O (SP #4),
Deuce #4, ad O (SP #5), Obata won the first set 6-3 at 11:57.


Second Set
----------
HANTU _@* *@ @* 6
OBATA @__*__@__ 3

Daniela serving 0-0: 0/15, 15/15, 15/30, 15/40 (2 BPs), broken -
3 unforced errors by Daniela.
Obata serving 1-0: Ace. 15/0. Double fault. 15/15, 15/30, 30/30,
30/40 (BP), 40/40, ad O, Deuce #2, ad D (BP #2), broken back.

Daniela serving 1-1: 30/0. Ace. 40/0, 40/15, held.
Obata serving 1-2: 30/0 -> 30/30, 40/30, held.
Daniela serving 2-2: 40/0, 40/15, held.
Obata serving 2-3: 0/40 (3 BPs), 15/40, broken.
Daniela serving 4-2: 15/0, 15/15, 40/15 -> 40/40, ad O (BP),
Deuce #2, ad D, Deuce #3, ad O (BP #2), broken. 4 UEs by Daniela in
that game.

Obata serving 3-4: 0/30, 15/30, 15/40 (2 BPs), broken.
Daniela serving for the set at 5-3: Held to love, sealed with an
ace! Daniela won the second set 6-3 at 12:41.


Third Set
---------
HANTU @*@*@* 6
OBATA ______ 0

Obata serving 0-0: 15/0, 15/30, 30/30, 30/40 (BP), broken.
Daniela serving 1-0: 30/0, 30/15, 40/15, held.
Obata serving 0-2: 0/15, 15/15, 15/40 (2 BPs), broken.
Daniela serving 3-0: Held to love.
Obata serving 0-4: 0/30 (Obata UEs), 15/30, 15/40 (2 BPs) -> 40/40
(Daniela UEs), ad D (BP #3), broken.

Daniela serving for the match at 5-0: 15/0. Double fault. 15/15,
30/15. UE. 30/30. UE. 30/40 (BP), 40/40, ad O (BP #2), Deuce #2,
ad O (BP #3), Deuce #3, ad D (MP), Daniela won 3-6 6-3 6-0 at 13:12
(1h56m).


Statistics
----------

Daniela had a W:UE ratio of 32:42, Obata 18:26. Both players
volleyed quite a bit: Daniela winning 6 of 10 points at the net,
Obata 8 of 14.

Daniela got 55% of first serves in, winning 56% of the points when
she did so, and 59% on second serve (Obata 64%, 52% and 40%). Both
of Daniela's first-serve percentages will have to improve if she is
to make Serena Williams pay for her out-of-shapeness in the third
round.

Daniela's serve does not appear to have improved from the first set
to the next two; the difference is in her W:UE ratios: a monstrous
7:22 for the first set, and 25:20 for the second and third sets
combined.

The statistics do not imply that Daniela improved from the second
set to the third, but rather that Obata fell apart in the third
(e.g. with a W:UE of 3:10).

Daniela served 5 aces and one double fault; Obata 4 of each.

Daniela broke 7 times from 14 break-points (a good conversion-rate
for /her/), while Obata broke only 4 times from 11 BPs.


Quotes
------

Audio file in Slovak:
http://expres.sk/writeable/news/audio/A568_2006011611505600359_0.wma

-sOfia-'s translation: "I didnt have in a good condition on the
court for my problems with teeth, I tried to be patient and I waited
for right moments in a match. (She will use antibiotics till
tomorrow). Today I could move better and I can open my mouth (Dani
smiled). I was a little slower on the court, but I have time to
recover."


-----------------
Second-round draw
-----------------

* DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [17] v Akgul Amanmuradova [WC]

21-year-old Amanmuradova is currently ranked #185, and started 2006
with a loss in the first *qualifying* round of Hobart. She got to
the final of the WTA Tier IV at Tashkent last October, but has had
an otherwise undistinguished career so far.

Amanmuradova earned her wild card by winning the Asian Tennis
Championships at Tashkent in September 2005. From what I've read,
she's a tall girl with a big serve, but can't run for dropshots.
From the photos I've seen, I'm afraid the first four letters of her
surname are very apposite! ;-)

Daniela (from -sOfia-'s translation): "I don't know her, but I saw
her: she is so, so big <smiling>. But I must seriously prepare for
that match."


---------------------------------
Women's Doubles: First-round draw
---------------------------------

* DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ/AI SUGIYAMA [6] v
Nicole Vaidišová/Barbora Strýcová

It will be nice for the Melbourne spectators to see Daniela and
Nicole on the same court, as I did at Birmingham 2005 when they
practised together with the Super Maria Sisters. :-)


---------------------------
Order of play for Wednesday
---------------------------

Margaret Court Arena (start 11:00 EST = 00:00 GMT)
MS 2r: ROBBY GINEPRI [13] v Denis Gremelmayr
WS 2r: DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [17] v Akgul Amanmuradova [WC]
MS 2r: TOMÁŠ BERDYCH [19] v Gilles Simon
|
Evening-session (not before 19:30 EST)
MS 2r: Xavier Malisse v THOMAS JOHANSSON [10]

Full order of play:
http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/scores/schedule/

--
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/