=======
US OPEN (Flushing Meadows, New York, USA; outdoor hard; Grand Slam)
======= http://www.usopen.org/
Photos
------

http://www.usopen.org/en_US/players/wtah394.html
http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news/?c=news_photos&p=hantuchova
http://www.wtaworld.com/showthread.php?t=210331&page=89 (and 90)
Search Getty Images for "hantuchova"

Chris Gerby's US Open photos (many players):
http://www.tennis-ontheline.com/06usogal.htm

srg1's photos (various players):
http://www.wtaworld.com/showthread.php?t=259540

Daniela was, for me, the most attractive player at the US Open :-)

------------
Second round (Thursday 31st August)
------------

- DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [17] lt. Serena Williams [WC], 5-7 3-6

Daniela led 5-2* in the first set, then lost seven games in a row.
Mark Hodgkinson of the Daily Telegraph wrote, "If Hantuchová had had
greater belief in her abilities, she may well have defeated Williams
for the second time this season."

It may be possible to steal a person's identity and get a job using
their CV, but if it were possible to steal talent, someone who stole
Daniela's could probably win Grand Slam singles-titles!

At least Daniela did better against Serena than Ana Ivanovic did in
the next round (I like Ana; I only pick on her because she won the
US Open Series).


www.wtatour.com: "As she had done in their two previous 2006
encounters, Hantuchová came out firing, flattening out her big
groundstrokes to surge to an early 5-2 lead; but Williams summoned
the form that had won her four of their five prior encounters,
rallying to win the next seven games in a row, and eventually
closing the match out after one hour, 33 minutes of fierce baseline
duelling."

Steve Ginsburg (Reuters): "Hantuchová was serving for the first set
at 5-3, but played a loose game to allow Williams back into the
match. Two ill-timed dropshots and two double faults put Williams
back on serve, and shifted momentum to the two-times Open champion."

rockstar: "the first seven games were incredibly exciting to watch!
daniela was hitting winners left and right. after that it got really
boring cos all she did was get the ball back into play."


I followed live scores at www.usopen.org. The match started on
Arthur Ashe Court at 15:29 EDT. Here are my comments as I wrote them
at the time:


First Set:
HANTUCHO *@* * *_____ 5
WILLIAMS ___* * *@*@* 7

Daniela serving 0-0: 15/0, 15/15, 30/15, 30/30, 40/30, held.

Well done - very important to get the first game on the board
against Williams.

Williams serving 0-1: 0/15, 15/15, 30/30, 40/40, ad Daniela (BP),
broken.
Daniela serving 2-0: 0/15, 40/15, held.

Wow - what a start! :-)

Williams serving 0-3: 40/0, 40/15, held.
Daniela serving 3-1: 15/15, 40/15, 40/30, held.
Williams serving 1-4: 0/15, 30/15, 40/30, 40/40, ad Williams,
Deuce #2, ad Williams, held.
Daniela serving 4-2: 30/15, 40/15, held.

5-2. Brad Gilbert (I think) has a saying, "once you get to five,
you're in business."

Daniela has won the first set 6-1 against Serena Williams both times
they've played this year, so can she win the first set this time?
Williams is a great fighter when she's not undermining herself with
unforced errors.

Williams serving to stay in the first set at 2-5: 0/15, 15/15,
40/30, held.
Daniela serving for the first set at 5-3: 0/15, 15/15,
15/40 (2 BPs), 30/40, broken.
Williams serving to stay in the first set at 4-5: 15/0, 15/15,
30/15, held.

Here we go again! :-( Daniela let a 5-1 lead become 5-5 in the first
round.

Daniela serving 5-5: 15/0, 15/15, 15/30, broken.
Williams serving for the first set at 6-5: 40/0 (3 SPs), 40/15,
Williams won the first set 7-5 at 16:19 (50m).


Second Set:
HANTUCHO __* * *__ 3
WILLIAMS @* * * *@ 6

Daniela serving 0-0: 0/30 -> 30/30, 40/40, ad Williams (BP), broken.
Williams serving 1-0: held to love.

The momentum is all with Williams at the moment: seven games in a
row. I fear a bagel in this set.

Daniela serving 0-2: 0/30 -> 30/30, 40/40, ad Daniela, held.

Well recovered! A vital game for Daniela to stem the tide.

Williams serving 2-1: 15/0, 40/15, held.
Daniela serving 1-3: 15/0, 15/15, 40/15, held.
Williams serving 3-2: 15/15, 30/15, 40/30, 40/40, ad Williams, held.
Daniela serving 2-4: 0/15, 15/30, 40/30, 40/40, ad Williams (BP),
Deuce #2, ad Daniela, held.

At least Daniela's making a fight of it, but there's still an air of
inevitability about it, unlike when Daniela was up a break in the
first set. :-o

Williams serving 4-3: 30/0, held.
Daniela serving to stay in the match at 3-5: 15/0, 30/15,
30/40 (MP #1), 40/40, ad Williams (MP #2),
Williams won 7-5 6-3 at 17:03 (second set 44m, match 1h34m).


Statistics
----------

Daniela got 63% of her first serves in, winning 60% of the points
when she did so, and 46% on second serve (Williams 62%, 71% and
65%). Both of Daniela's first-serve percentages deteriorated in the
second set, where she actually won more points on second serve!

Daniela served 7 aces and 4 double faults (3 in the first set - I
wonder which part?), but Williams was better with 9 aces and just 2
double faults.

Williams had a much faster first serve than Daniela (fastest 117-105
mph, average 108-98 mph), but Daniela has a better second serve than
Williams (91-89 mph).

Daniela had a negative W:UE ratio of 25:27, while Williams had a
much better 30:16 (20:7 in the second set).

At least Daniela was uncharacteristically perfect in her break-point
conversion-rate: she had one break-point in the second game of the
match, and she took it! ;-) Williams broke 4 times from 9 break-
points.

Daniela was the better net-player, winning 7 of 11 points at the net
while Williams won 3 of 6. But Daniela deteriorated from 4 of 4 in
the first set to 3 of 7 in the second.

In points, Williams won 76-61 (first set 39-34, second 37-27).


Williams quotes
---------------

"Daniela was playing really well; she was doing everything right, I
just told myself I needed to pick my game up.

"Was I down 5-2? I didn't even know it. I started focusing. I
remember being down 4-1. That is when I lost my memory.

"I don't even remember being down 5-2. I just remember thinking I
was just down one break. All I had to do was break her, and we'd be
back on serve. She seemed to be a little nervous [at 5-3]. It was
definitely a big game. At the same time, I hit some pretty big
shots. Then she hit a double fault which was really able to open the
doors for me.

"I don't really feel like an unseeded player, because I don't think
about it. Obviously I am, but I just feel like I am who I am, and
I'm out there to perform. I don't know many opponents that
see 'Serena Williams' next to their name and say, 'yes!'"

----------------------------
Women's Doubles: First round (Friday 1st/Sunday 3rd September)
----------------------------

+ DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ/SUGIYAMA,AI [4] d.
Yuliana Fedak/Tatiana Perebiynis, 6-4 6-4

This match was suspended on Friday evening with Hantuyama having
just won the first set 6-4; it resumed on Sunday after Saturday was
totally rained off.

-----------------------------
Women's Doubles: Second round (Monday 4th September)
-----------------------------

Nice winner, nice loser:
+ Vera Zvonarëva/Nathalie Dechy d.
DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ/SUGIYAMA,AI [4], 3-6 6-4 6-2

I followed live scores casually at www.usopen.org:


Third Set:
ZVONA/DECHY @*@* * * 6
HANTU/SUGIY ____* *_ 2

Hantuyama had two break-points with Zvonarechy serving at
*3-0 (15/40), and 15/30 at *4-1.

Hantuyama serving to stay in the match at 1-5: 15/0, 15/15, 30/15,
30/30, 40/30, held.
Zvonarechy serving for the match at 5-2: 0/30 -> 40/30 (MP),
Zvonarechy won 3-6 6-4 6-2 at 16:24 EDT.

Vera is, like Daniela, a member of my Eternal Fanship, and she went
on to win the only Grand Slam Women's Doubles title ever won by a
member of my Eternal Fanship! :-)


===========================
SONY ERICSSON CHAMPIONSHIPS
(Madrid, Spain; indoor hard; WTA season-ending championships)
=========================== (7th-12th November 2006)

Race to the Sony Ericsson Championships as of 11th September 2006:
1. JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE (3473 points) - qualified
2. AMÉLIE MAURESMO (2735) - qualified
3. MARIA SHARAPOVA (2727) - qualified
4. Svetlana Kuznetsova (2093) - in line to qualify
5. Kim Clijsters (1860) - in line to qualify
6. Martina Hingis (1719) - in line to qualify
7. Elena Dementieva (1704) - in line to qualify
8. Nadia Petrova (1549) - in line to qualify
9. dinara safina (1363)
10. patty schnyder (1326)
11. nicole vaidišová (1168)
12. anastasia myskina (1000)
13. ana ivanovic (974)
14. jelena jankovic (971)
15. anna-lena grönefeld (898)
16. li,na (801)
17. francesca schiavone (800)
18. shahar peer (775)
19. daniela hantuchová (774)
<snip>

Source:
http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/2/rankings/race/singles.asp

=========================
WTA TOUR SINGLES RANKINGS (as of 11th September 2006)
=========================

1. Amélie Mauresmo (3610 points)
2. Justine Henin-Hardenne (3474)
3. Maria Sharapova (3125)
4. Kim Clijsters (2360)
5. Svetlana Kuznetsova (2168)
6. Elena Dementieva (2027)
7. Nadia Petrova (1996)
8. Patty Schnyder (1793)
9. Martina Hingis (1719)
10. Nicole Vaidišová (1589)
11. Dinara Safina (1541)
12. Lindsay Davenport (1530)
13. Anastasia Myskina (1381)
14. Francesca Schiavone (1278)
15. Ana Ivanovic (1197)
16. Anna-Lena Grönefeld (1168)
17. Jelena Jankovic (1101)
18. Mary Pierce (981)
19. Daniela Hantuchová (910)
<snip>

Source:
http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/2/rankings/singles_numeric.asp

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

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