===============
AUSTRALIAN OPEN
(Melbourne, Australia; outdoor hard (Rebound Ace); Grand Slam)
=============== http://www.australianopen.com/
Photos
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Daniela and Maria:
http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news/?c=news_photos&p=hantuchova
Search Getty Images for "hantuchova"

Daniela on-court:
http://www.wtaworld.com/showthread.php?t=210331&page=8

Daniela off-court:
http://www.wtaworld.com/showthread.php?t=208809&page=3

Video - Barbara Schett interviews Daniela:
http://www.eurosport.com/tennis/mc_vid23030.shtml


Fans of both players might want to read my joint, uncut report:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jeldani/message/3162

------------
Fourth round (Sunday)
------------

+ MARIA SHARAPOVA [4] d. DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [17], 6-4 6-4

This was a brilliant match from both players, and the best tennis
that I've seen from Daniela since the Indian Wells 2002 final. No
longer tentative but full of confidence after beating Serena
Williams, Daniela went for her shots and made some spectacular
winners, particularly when 3-4* down in the first set.

But Maria responded with her own winners, and was better in the
decisive moments than Daniela. Maria has an incredible strength of
will - "as mean as a snake", as Martina Hingis once put it. And
Maria is a heavier hitter than Daniela, and a better mover.

Daniela led 2-0 in the first set and 3-0 in the second. Sadly she
picked up a thigh-injury in the second set that required off-court
treatment at 3-2, and while it didn't appear to be too serious,
Daniela just went off the boil enough for Maria to romp into the
quarter-finals without much resistance at the end. Daniela had
deserved a set.

It's good that this match was on the Rod Laver Arena evening-
session, as it was a brutally hot and humid day, with temperatures
up to 44°C outside - the 6th-hottest day ever recorded in Melbourne -
although with the roof closed and the air-conditioning on, it was
more like 25°C (the ball bounces lower with the roof closed).

But I don't remember seeing such brilliant tennis from two players
against each other since Monica Seles d. Karina Habšudová in 1r
Wimbledon 2000. :-)

Sam Smith commented on how much Daniela's forehand has improved this
year: a cleaner swing and a better strike-position. She criticised
Maria for serving to Daniela's forehand in the deuce-court too much.

Sam Smith said Daniela's intelligence works against her on a tennis-
court, as she tends to overanalyse things rather than playing from
instinct.

Of the previous Maria v Daniela matches that I've seen, Maria was
just too good for Daniela at Wimbledon 2004, and IMO neither of them
played close to their best at Zurich 2004. Their match-ups lack a
contrast of styles, but it's certainly a joy to watch when they're
both hitting winner after winner as they were doing towards the end
of the first set, which was worthy of a Grand Slam final.


In British newspaper _The Daily Telegraph_, Mark Hodgkinson wrote:
>>>
Hantuchová, the world No 17, has previously been known for her
mental frailty on court, but it is understood that she had been
working with a leading sports psychologist, and she has displayed a
tougher approach to her tennis during her run at the Australian Open.

And while strolling the corridors and walkways of Melbourne Park,
her manner and ever-present smile have suggested that she has been
enjoying her time on the tour again.
<<<

According to Sam Smith, Daniela has improved mentally in that she
doesn't beat herself any more. When things start to go wrong, she's
learned to stay in the moment rather than thinking ahead about what
could happen (another important aspect, of course, is not thinking
back to missed opportunities). And it takes a tough, strong-willed
woman to come back as far as Daniela has done from the traumas she
suffered both on and off the court in 2003.

Sam Smith tipped Daniela to return to the top ten.

Apparently, Daniela spent a couple of years at the Nick Bollettieri
academy in Florida, from the age of 16 which I didn't know before
(Maria, of course, has been there since 1994).

Sam Smith said Maria and Daniela were both influential fashion-
icons - that girls in Russia and Slovakia wanted to wear the same as
they do. I hope Maria's maternity-dress won't become the latest
fashion, though - only the slimmest girls would get away with
that! ;-)


First Set
---------
SHARAPOVA __@*@*__@* 6
HANTUCHOV *@____*@__ 4

Daniela won the toss and elected to serve, and the match started on
Rod Laver Arena at 19:43 AEST.

Daniela serving 0-0: Held to love, courtesy of some quick errors
from Maria and a dead netcord. Daniela looked relaxed, and was
playing consistently rather than recklessly, getting a lot of balls
back.

Maria serving 0-1: More errors from Maria and a double fault. 15/40
(2 BPs). Maria hit a good serve out wide, but netted an easy down-
the-line forehand to give first blood to Daniela.

Daniela serving 2-0: Broken to 15 with four errors (the point she
won was a serve down the middle to force a short return, which she
dispatched with a crosscourt forehand winner).

Maria serving 1-2: Held to 15 - errors and a dead netcord.

Daniela serving 2-2: Maria forehand winner. 0/15. Daniela hit a
great serve out wide, followed by an off-backhand dropshot, but
Maria ran it down impressively to hit a crosscourt forehand winner.
0/30. Daniela won the next three points with a service-winner
followed by a couple of errors from Maria after good defensive play
by Daniela. 40/30. Double fault. 40/40. Two forehand errors from
Daniela put Maria up a break.

Maria serving 3-2: Daniela was sparring well, but making errors. She
hit an off-backhand winner down the line at 30/0, and Maria missed a
forehand to make it 30/30. Maria hit an off-forehand to set up a
crosscourt forehand winner, and said "c'mon". 40/30. Maria hit a
crosscourt forehand winner onto the sideline.

Daniela serving 2-4: Maria punished a poor dropshot with a forehand
winner. 0/15. Two service-winners. 30/15. Daniela netted two
backhands. 30/40 (BP). Daniela saved it with a wide serve to force a
short return and set up a crosscourt forehand winner. 40/40. Maria
exposed Daniela's lack of mobility with an aggressive backhand down
the line, forcing Daniela to net a sliced forehand. Advantage Maria
(BP #2). Daniela saved it with a terrific crosscourt backhand
winner. Deuce #2. Two service-winners.

Maria serving 4-3: Brilliant game!
* Daniela hit a forehand return-winner down the line.
* {0/15} Daniela hit a stinging forehand return winner down the
other line.
* {0/30} Maria responded with a backhand winner down the line that
caught the back edge of the sideline.
* {15/30} Daniela hit an aggressive forehand return to set up a
forehand winner down the line.
* {15/40: 2 BPs} Maria saved it with backhand winner down the line.
* {30/40} Daniela wasted it with a forehand return long.
* {40/40} Double fault.
* {Ad D: BP #3} Maria saved it with a good serve to set up an off-
forehand winner.
* {Deuce #2} Maria forehand long.
* {Ad D: BP #4} Maria backhand long.

Daniela serving 4-4: Maria broke to 15 as Daniela made four errors
(the point she won was a service-winner), finishing with a sliced
backhand into the net. "C'mon!" said Maria.

Maria serving for the first set at 5-4:
* Daniela forehand return-winner down the line.
* {0/15} Daniela crosscourt backhand virtual winner.
* {0/30} Maria served down the middle to force a lob from Daniela,
and hit a forehand smash-winner.
* {15/30} Daniela opened up the court nicely for a backhand winner
down the line... and hit it into the net.
* {30/30} Daniela mishit a dropshot-return that made Maria stumble
on her way to hit a forehand; Daniela hit a lob; Maria, running
backwards, hit a forehand smash long.
* {30/40: BP} Maria saved it with an ace out wide, but Daniela
complained that it /was/ wide. The slow-motion replay showed that it
was clearly wide.
* {40/40} Daniela hit a wild backhand wide.
* {Ad M: SP} Maria won the first set 6-4 at 20:28 (45m) with a
service-winner down the middle, and said "c'mon".


Second Set
----------
SHARAPOVA ___*@* *@* 6
HANTUCHOV *@*___*___ 4

Daniela serving 0-0: After errors and a service-winner made it
40/15, Daniela hit a nice angled crosscourt forehand, but Maria used
it against her with a forehand winner down the line. 40/30. Double
fault. 40/40. Daniela hit an error-forcing crosscourt forehand. Ad
D. Ace out wide.

Maria serving 0-1: Maria hit a crosscourt forehand to set up a
forehand winner down the line, but a couple of forehand errors
(before and after) made it 15/30. Daniela hit a stunning forehand
winner down the line. 15/40 (2 BPs). Daniela hit a deep forehand
return to draw a netcord from Maria; Daniela hit an error-forcing
crosscourt forehand right into Maria's forehand corner to get the
break.

Daniela serving 2-0: Held to 30 with two service-winners and two
shots wide from Maria (one of Maria's points was a crosscourt
backhand winner).

Maria serving 0-3: Held to 15 with two forehand smash-winners, and
an acute crosscourt backhand that forced Daniela to net a sliced
backhand on the second point. Daniela started stretching her left
thigh between points.

Sam Smith: "Sharapova having to play near her best tennis just to
live in this second set with Hantuchová."

Daniela serving 3-1: With Maria hitting a crosscourt forehand onto
the sideline to set up a forehand drive-volley winner at 15/15,
Daniela was broken to 15 after missing three forehands - one of
which was short and easy.

There was a 9-minute delay while Daniela went off-court for a
medical time-out, during which Maria was hitting practice-serves.
Only 3 minutes are allowed for the actual treatment - the other 6
were taken up with waiting for the trainer to arrive, evaluating the
injury, leaving and reentering the court. Daniela reappeared with
her left thigh strapped.

Maria serving 2-3: Maria tested Daniela's injury with a dropshot,
but Daniela ran it down, hit a crosscourt forehand, and Maria missed
a forehand pass long and wide. 0/15. Daniela off-forehand winner.
0/30. Maria forehand drive-volley winner. 15/30. Maria backhand
long. 15/40 (2 BPs). Maria hit a crosscourt forehand to set up an
error-forcing forehand down the line. 30/40. Daniela wasted the 2nd
BP with a backhand return long. 40/40. Daniela ballooned a forehand
return wide. Ad M. Daniela backhand long.

Daniela serving 3-3: Held to love with two aces down the middle, a
service-winner, and a wide-angled serve to set up a backhand winner
down the line.

Maria serving 3-4: Held to love with an ace out wide, a serve out
wide to set up a crosscourt backhand winner, and two backhand errors
from Daniela.

Daniela serving 4-4: Daniela recovered from 0/15 with a forehand
winner down the line. Maria hit a down-the-line forehand winner to
make it 15/40 (2 BPs). On the 16th stroke of the rally, Maria netted
a forehand. 30/40. On the 16th stroke of this rally, Maria hit an
off-forehand winner behind Daniela to score the vital break.

Maria serving for the match at 5-4:
* Daniela backhand long.
* {15/0} Service-winner down the middle.
* {30/0} Ace out wide.
* {40/0: 3 MPs} Daniela hit a backhand onto the baseline, forcing
Maria to hit a backhand long.
* {40/15: MP #2} Maria served down the middle; Daniela hit a
backhand skyscraper-lob return that landed just inside the sideline;
Maria hit a crosscourt backhand; Daniela hit a forehand winner into
the open space.
* {40/30: MP #3} Service-winner out wide. Maria won 6-4 6-4 at 21:20
(1h37m, including the 9m MTO).


Statistics
----------

Maria got 61% of first serves in, winning 63% of the points when she
did so, and 50% on second serve (Daniela 70%, 58% and 33%). Maria
will need to improve her serve-percentages if Nadia Petrova's serve
will be at its best (Maria did improve them in the second set to
71%, 65% and 63%).

Maria served big, with a fastest serve of 185 km/h (Daniela 175
km/h), average first serve at 170 km/h (Daniela 165 km/h), second
serve 141 km/h for both players.

Both girls hit 3 aces and 2 double faults. Maria won 8 of 10 points
at the net, while Daniela won only 6 of 9, which is a bit
disappointing compared with her previous rounds.

Maria had a W:UE ratio of 25:16, Daniela 16:22. These figures don't
do justice to the best part of the match (the end of the first set
and the beginning of the second), where they both hit plenty of
spectacular winners.

Maria beat Daniela by 66 points to 57 (first set 35-31, second set
31-26).

Maria broke 5 times from 8 break-points, Daniela 3 times from 9 BPs.
And that was the key difference - Daniela actually had one more BP,
but her conversion-rate was only 33% against Maria's 63%.

Daniela really needs to address what happens on break-points against
the opponent as her number-one priority.


Maria quotes
------------

"Today was probably one of the hottest days I've ever experienced in
my life. It was pretty brutal out there."

[Re. approaching peak form]
"Little by little I am. It was good today, I kept my composure when
I was down at the beginning of both of the sets. I just kept calm
and tried to break her, and tried to get the momentum back, and it
went my way in the end.

"I felt like even though I got down those breaks, I still felt like
I was playing pretty well. I thought she was a great returner."

[Re. Daniela's medical time-out]
"I really had to keep my composure and stay in control."


----------------------------
Women's Doubles: Third round
----------------------------

- DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ/AI SUGIYAMA [6] lt.
GISELA DULKO/MARIA KIRILENKO [10], 6-1 6-1

At least Dulkirilenko are a very pretty team. ;-)

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