=================
THE CHAMPIONSHIPS (Wimbledon, England; grass; Major)
================= http://2009.wimbledon.org/
Third round (Friday 26th June 2009)
-----------

+ Daniela Hantuchová [EF] d. Ai Sugiyama, 6-4 6-3

I have just finished my full TV-report of this match - including a
point-by-point description, and transcriptions of the BBC commentary - and
uploaded it to my website:
http://tinyurl.com/hantu-wimbledon2009

I plan to post my full TV-report for Daniela's fourth round by 20th September.

--
Dr. Andrew Broad
http://tinyurl.com/andrewbroad-hantu

=================
THE CHAMPIONSHIPS (Wimbledon, England; grass; Major)
================= http://2009.wimbledon.org/
Second round (Wednesday 24th June 2009)
------------

+ Daniela Hantuchová [EF] d. ZHENG,JIE [16], 6-3 7-5

I have just finished my full TV-report of this match - including a
point-by-point description, and transcriptions of the BBC commentary - and
uploaded it to my website:
http://tinyurl.com/hantu-wimbledon2009

I still plan to post my full TV-reports for Daniela's third round on 6th
September, and her fourth round on 13th September - but these dates are
tentative estimates, because I don't know how much of a toll the US Open is
going to take on my Wimbledon-reports.

--
Dr. Andrew Broad
http://tinyurl.com/andrewbroad-hantu

=================
THE CHAMPIONSHIPS (Wimbledon, England; grass; Major)
================= http://www.wimbledon.org/
First round (Monday 22nd June 2009)
-----------

+ Daniela Hantuchová [EF] d. Laura Robson [WC], 3-6 6-4 6-2

I have just finished my full TV-report of this match - including a
point-by-point description, and transcriptions of the BBC commentary - and
uploaded it to my website:
http://tinyurl.com/hantu-wimbledon2009

Despite the delay in getting this one finished, I am ahead of schedule on my
Wimbledon-reports. Daniela's second round is now due on
23rd August, her third round on 6th September, and her fourth round on 13th
September.

--
Dr. Andrew Broad
http://tinyurl.com/andrewbroad-hantu

=================
THE CHAMPIONSHIPS (Wimbledon, England; grass; Major)
================= http://www.wimbledon.org/
Contents
--------

1. Photos
2. Fourth-round TV-report: Hantuchová v S.Williams

---------
1. Photos
---------

Daniela Hantuchová [EF]:
http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/players/overview/wta080394.html
http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news/?c=news_photos&p=hantuchova

Photos at http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/ (Day 1)

--------------------------------------------------
2. Fourth-round TV-report: Hantuchová v S.Williams
(Monday 29th June 2009)
--------------------------------------------------

- Daniela Hantuchová [EF] lt. SERENA WILLIAMS [2], 3-6 1-6

It was Daniela's joint-heaviest loss to Serena. She played some good tennis in
the first set, but Williams was too strong in the end.
In the second set, Daniela's challenge faded badly with a series of unforced
errors.

Daniela was broken for 1-3* just before BBC 2 started televising it. She broke
back immediately with a scorching forehand winner down the line at 40/30, and a
gorgeous backhand winner down the line at break-point!

At *2-3, Williams broke to love with three winners in the row - the last a lucky
netcord-winner. This time, she consolidated her break with three big serves.

At *2-5, Daniela played an excellent service-game: at 15/15, she played a
gorgeous spreading rally finished with a backhand volley-winner, and a serve +
crosscourt forehand winner on the following point.

Williams sealed the first set with two aces in a row, and won 15 points in a row
from *5-3 in the first set to 2-0* (40/0*) in the second. By this time,
Daniela's errors were much more unforced than in the first set, and her
confidence looked shot.

Three Williams forehand-errors saved those break-points, but Daniela made one
herself, then surrendered her serve on a double fault.

BBC 2 stopped showing it at 0-3*, but televisation continued on the Red Button
at *0-4 (30/15). From there, Daniela won one point with a good first serve, but
the other two points she needed for her lone game of the second set were really
gifted to her by Williams netting two makeable forehand returns.

At 1-4*, Daniela put some pressure on Williams's serve with a good spreading
rally and an error-forcing forehand down the line, but Williams held with three
big serves and an off-forehand winner.

At *1-5, Williams's off-backhand winner gave her a 15/30 opening, and Daniela
hit a semi-makeable crosscourt forehand pass wide to go 15/40 down. Her fate was
sealed when she hit a down-the-line forehand wide.

Williams: "I was definitely out there not to stay out too long [in the 30°C
heat], and just do the best I could do, whether it was win or lose."

I'll post my full TV-report - with a blow-by-blow description of every point -
at a future date (ETA 11th October 2009).

--
Dr. Andrew Broad
http://tinyurl.com/andrewbroad-hantu

=================
THE CHAMPIONSHIPS (Wimbledon, England; grass; Major)
================= http://www.wimbledon.org/
Contents
--------

1. Third-round TV-report: Hantuchová v Sugiyama
2. Fourth-round draw
3. Fourth-round preview: Hantuchová v S.Williams
4. Andrew's wishes
5. Women's Doubles
6. Order of play for Monday

-----------------------------------------------
1. Third-round TV-report: Hantuchová v Sugiyama
(Friday 26th June 2009)
-----------------------------------------------

+ Daniela Hantuchová [EF] d. Ai Sugiyama, 6-4 6-3

I watched this match on BBC Red Button until 6-4 1-0*, when the show-courts got
underway and it was no longer available on Freeview.

It was the best performance I've seen from Daniela so far this Wimbledon. It's
so wonderful to watch Daniela hitting her groundstrokes with flairsome power,
and playing great spreading rallies.

Daniela recovered from another *0-2 start (just as she did against Zheng,Jie in
the previous round) - not so much a slow start by Daniela as an excellent one by
Sugiyama.

At *0-2, Daniela started to spread Sugiyama, opening up the court, forcing
floaters, and going to the net to hit volley-winners.
Even so, she had to save a break-point to avoid going 0-3* down, but it was an
excellent hold for 1-2* in the end.

The next four games went with serve, as Daniela's good form continued in her own
service-games, but with a bit of moisture on the grass, she couldn't put much
pressure on Sugiyama's.

One of Daniela's best points came at *1-3 (30/15), when she drew Sugiyama to the
net with a lob, and hit a perfect backhand lob-winner onto the baseline!

At 3-4*, Daniela finally broke back. She played a wonderful point at the net
with a forehand drop-volley winner, sandwiched between two Sugiyama errors to
give her 0/40. Sugiyama saved the first two with a forehand volley-winner and an
off-forehand winner just inside the sideline, but Daniela converted the third
break-point as her depth forced Sugiyama to net a forehand.

Daniela recovered from *4-4 (0/30) with a crosscourt forehand winner, and held
with a one-two punch: serve out wide + backhand winner down the line.

At 5-4*, Daniela broke to win the first set. A couple of hard, deep forehands
forced Sugiyama into errors, and an unforced error gave Daniela two set-points
at 15/40. Sugiyama saved it with a first serve out wide + off-forehand winner,
but Daniela converted the second when Sugiyama hit a backhand long.

Daniela held for 6-4 1-0* with the help of a backhand winner down the line and
an off-backhand winner. She broke for *2-0, but was broken back immediately,
despite saving two break-points.

Daniela squandered three break-points at 2-1* (40/0*) before Sugiyama held for
2-2. Daniela held to 15 and broke to love for *4-2, then almost blew a 40/0 lead
as she had to save a break-point in a game of four deuces before holding for
5-2*.

Sugiyama held to 15, but Daniela at *5-3 managed to serve out the match, needed
three nonconsecutive match-points. The BBC showed the last point: a deep first
serve down the middle induced Sugiyama to hit a forehand return just long.

I find it amusing that BBC presenter Sue Barker can't mention Daniela without
adding "who put out Laura Robson".

Daniela: "It's never a nice feeling having to play Sugi, because she's one of my
best friends. She's a great person, so winning or losing, I knew always it was
going to be a strange feeling for me.
So I just tried to take it as another match, and not to think that she was on
the other side."

Then came the sad news that Daniela was feeling unwell and had gone home. It was
later confirmed that she was suffering from 'flu (hopefully not of the
swine-variety) and had gone to see a doctor, but at least she has until Monday
to recover...

Daniela: "I've been fighting a 'flu for the last few days. Before was more, you
know, inside. Now it's coming out to the voice."

I'll post my full TV-report - with a blow-by-blow description of every point -
at a future date (ETA 4th October 2009).

--------------------
2. Fourth-round draw
--------------------

The players on the left are the ones I want to win.

* DINARA SAFINA [1] v AMÉLIE MAURESMO [17]
* Sabine Lisicki [DF] v CAROLINE WOZNIACKI [9] (my loyalty is to Sabine)
* ANA IVANOVIC [13,DF] v VENUS WILLIAMS [3] (ajde Ana!)
* AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA [11] v Melanie Oudin [Q]

* Francesca Schiavone v VIRGINIE RAZZANO [26]
* Elena Vesnina v ELENA DEMENTIEVA [4] (my loyalty is to Vesnina)
* VICTORIA AZARENKA [8,DF] v NADIA PETROVA [10] (davai Vika!)
* Daniela Hantuchová [EF] v SERENA WILLIAMS [2] (PODME DANIELA!!)

------------------------------------------------
3. Fourth-round preview: Hantuchová v S.Williams
------------------------------------------------

Whenever I think about Daniela playing Serena Williams, I immediately remember
their last meeting: that dramatic fourth-round match at Wimbledon 2007, when
Williams collapsed at 6-2 5-5* with a spasm-induced calf-strain, writhing and
screaming in agony.

It looked like Williams was about to retire, but amazingly, she eventually got
up and managed to force a tiebreak, despite hobbling between points!

Then Williams was saved by a two-hour rain-delay (with Daniela leading 4/2* in
the tiebreak), after which Williams's movement dramatically improved.

Daniela did manage to win the tiebreak, but she folded horribly in the third
set, as Williams indulged in some bizarre gamesmanship, including asking to go
to the toilet before each of Daniela's last two service-games (which she broke),
and refusing to go to the toilet before her own service-game in between.

I would like nothing more from this Wimbledon than for Daniela to avenge that
bullying display by Williams, and go on to win the title. Unfortunately that
doesn't seem very likely, as Williams leads their head to head 6:1:
- 2002 Wimbledon qf: Williams 6-3 6-2
- 2002 US Open qf: Williams 6-2 6-2
- 2005 Dubai qf: Williams 6-4 6-3
+ 2006 Australian Open 3r: Daniela 6-1 7-6 (7/5)
- 2006 Los Angeles 3r: Williams 1-6 6-3 6-3
- 2006 US Open 2r: Williams 7-5 6-3
- 2007 Wimbledon 4r: Williams 6-2 6-7 (2/7) 6-2

Williams isn't having a great year by her own standards as a ten-time Major
champion who currently holds the US and Australian Open titles, but still has an
impressive 28:7 win/loss record for 2009 so far (including her three wins here).

At Sydney, Williams saved four match-points in the first round before beating
world #46 Samantha Stosur 6-3 6-7 7-5, and saved another three match-points
before beating #12 Caroline Wozniacki 6-7 6-3 7-6 in the quarter-finals. She was
then thrashed 6-3 6-1 by #4 Elena Dementieva.

But Serena almost always rises to the occasion for Majors other than the French
Open, and she claimed her tenth Major at the Australian Open. In the fourth
round, she was being thrashed by #14 Victoria Azarenka before Vika sadly was
taken ill, and had to retire leading 6-3 *2-4. Williams also pulled off a great
escape against #8 Svetlana Kuznetsova, who led 7-5 5-3* before losing 7-5 5-7
1-6, then beat #4 Elena Dementieva 6-3 6-4 in the semi-finals, and thrashed #3
Dinara Safina 6-0 6-3 in the final.

However, Williams has struggled with a right-knee injury ever since winning the
Australian Open. She reached the semi-finals of WTA Paris, but gave Dementieva a
walkover.

She reached the semi-finals of Dubai by beating #8 Ana Ivanovic 6-4 6-4, but
lost 6-1 2-6 7-6 to #6 Venus Williams. She avenged that defeat by beating Venus
6-4 3-6 6-3 in the semi-finals of Miami, but was thrashed 6-3 6-1 by #10
Victoria Azarenka in the final (just as she would have been at the Australian
Open, had Vika not been ill).

Amazingly, that was the start of a four-match losing-streak for Williams, which
continued into the clay-court season at Marbella (6-4 3-6 6-1 to #95 Klára
Zakopalová), Rome (6-2 2-6 6-1 to #20 Patty Schnyder) and Madrid (4-6 retired
against #45 Francesca Schiavone).

The French Open 2009 was one Major where it was absolutely safe to write off
Williams's chances of winning the title, yet she almost beat the eventual
champion before bowing out in the quarter-finals. In the first round, she
avenged her loss to Zakopalová 6-3 6-7(5) 6-4, then thrashed #133 Virginia Ruano
Pascual 6-2 6-0. She beat #43 María José Martínez Sánchez 4-6 6-3 6-4 in the
third round, then thrashed #24 Aleksandra Wozniak 6-1 6-2 in the fourth round.
In the quarter-finals, she recovered from 6-7 *1-4 and 3-5* against #7 Svetlana
Kuznetsova, yet she was the one who got tight when leading *3-2 (40/0) in the
third; Kuznetsova won 7-6 5-7 7-5.

But while it was safe to write off Williams at the French Open, it certainly
isn't at Wimbledon! She won Wimbledon in 2002 and 2003, and was runner-up to
Maria Sharapova in 2004, and to Venus Williams in 2008. Grass is a much more
forgiving surface than clay, and of course Serena now has much more match-play
than she did going into the French Open.

Williams has reached the fourth round with the following results:
1r + Neuza Silva [Q], 6-1 7-5
2r + Jarmila Groth, 6-2 6-1
3r + Roberta Vinci, 6-3 6-4

Daniela's route to the fourth round:
1r + Laura Robson [WC], 3-6 6-4 6-2
2r + ZHENG,JIE [16], 6-3 7-5
3r + Ai Sugiyama, 6-4 6-3

All things considered, I believe Daniela can at least push Williams to two tight
sets; the problem is their respective mental strength when it does get tight.
Daniela's failings in this department are well documented, while Williams proved
as recently as the French Open that she is still an extremely tough competitor
under pressure.

One thing Daniela needs to avoid is going 0-2 down at the start, as she has done
in all three of her previous matches here. Williams is a big server and a
fearsome frontrunner, so it really needs to be at least 1-1 after the first two
games. Perhaps Daniela needs to do some more exercises before the match than she
would normally do, so that everything is flowing in the right direction from the
start.

Another factor is, of course, Daniela's 'flu, with which she went home early and
saw a doctor after winning her third-round match on Friday. She lost a
doubles-match 6-4 6-7 6-2 on Saturday, so I can only pray that it won't impair
her performance on Monday.

------------------
4. Andrew's wishes
------------------

Daniela Hantuchová [EF]:
4r + SERENA WILLIAMS [2]
qf + VICTORIA AZARENKA [8,DF]
sf + Elena Vesnina
_f + ANA IVANOVIC [13,DF]

------------------
5. Women's Doubles
------------------
5.1 First round (Tuesday 23rd June 2009)
---------------

+ (DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [EF]/AI SUGIYAMA)[6]
d. Tamira Paszek/Olga Savchuk, 6-0 6-1


5.2 Second round (Saturday 27th June 2009)
----------------

- (DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [EF]/AI SUGIYAMA)[6]
lt. Alisa Kleybanova/Ekaterina Makarova, 6-4 6-7 (5/7) 2-6

---------------------------
6. Order of play for Monday
---------------------------

Court 2 (start 12:00 BST = 11:00 GMT)
WS 4r: Elena Vesnina v ELENA DEMENTIEVA [4]
WS 4r: Daniela Hantuchová [EF] v SERENA WILLIAMS [2]
MS 4r: Lleyton Hewitt v RADEK ŠTEPÁNEK [23]

Full order of play:
http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/scores/schedule/

--
Dr. Andrew Broad
http://tinyurl.com/andrewbroad-hantu

=================
THE CHAMPIONSHIPS (Wimbledon, England; grass; Major)
================= http://www.wimbledon.org/
Contents
--------

1. Second-round TV-report: Hantuchová v Zheng
2. Third-round draw
3. Third-round preview: Hantuchová v Sugiyama
4. Order of play for Friday

---------------------------------------------
1. Second-round TV-report: Hantuchová v Zheng
(Wednesday 24th June 2009)
---------------------------------------------

+ Daniela Hantuchová [EF] d. ZHENG,JIE [16], 6-3 7-5

A pleasing win over last year's semi-finalist, and I got to watch it on BBC Red
Button until 6-3 1-1*, when the bustards who control it decided that some men's
match was more important. :fiery:

Daniela made a slow start to go *0-2 down, not moving or hitting the ball
particularly well. She's a tall girl, and it takes a while for everything to
start flowing in the right direction.

Zheng was moving well and taking the ball early, and she consolidated her break
to lead 3-1*.

But Daniela won the last five games of the first set. Her good serve set up
forehand winners; she also found some great depth on her groundstrokes, which
induced Zheng to make semi-forced errors.

Daniela squandered four break-back points at 2-3*, but saved Zheng's game-point
with a backhand return-winner down the line, and her deep, error-inducing
groundstrokes saw her earn and convert a fifth break-point to make it 3-3*.

Daniela held for 4-3* with the help of a serve + forehand winner, then Zheng
made four unforced errors to give her *5-3.

Serving for the first set, Daniela started with a very confident crosscourt
backhand winner, but had to recover from 15/30.
A body-jamming service-winner gave her set-point (40/30), and she converted it
with a serve + crosscourt forehand winner.

The BBC also showed Daniela's match-point: she sealed victory with a splendid
spreading rally: crosscourt backhand + down-the-line backhand + forehand
drop-volley winner.

I'll post my full TV-report - with a blow-by-blow description of every point -
at a future date (ETA 30th August 2009).

-------------------
2. Third-round draw
-------------------

The players on the left are the ones I want to win.

* Kirsten Flipkens v DINARA SAFINA [1] (komaan Kirsten!)
* FLAVIA PENNETTA [15,DF] v AMÉLIE MAURESMO [17] (forza Flavia!)
* CAROLINE WOZNIACKI [9] v ANABEL MEDINA GARRIGUES [20] (kom sĺ Caroline!)
* Sabine Lisicki [DF] v SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA [5] (komm jetzt Sabine!)

* VENUS WILLIAMS [3] v Carla Suárez Navarro
* ANA IVANOVIC [13,DF] v SAMANTHA STOSUR [18]
* LI,NA [19] v AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA [11]
* JELENA JANKOVIC [6] v Melanie Oudin [Q]

* VERA ZVONARËVA [7,EF] v VIRGINIE RAZZANO [26] (DAVAI VERA!!)
* MARION BARTOLI [12,DF,S] v Francesca Schiavone (allez Marion!)
* DOMINIKA CIBULKOVÁ [14] v Elena Vesnina (my loyalty is to Domi)
* ELENA DEMENTIEVA [4] v Regina Kulikova [Q] (davai Elena!)

* VICTORIA AZARENKA [8,DF] v SORANA CÎRSTEA [28] (my loyalty is to Queen
Victoria)
* Gisela Dulko [DF] v NADIA PETROVA [10] (Ąvamos Gisela!)
* Daniela Hantuchová [EF] v Ai Sugiyama (PODME DANIELA!!)
* Roberta Vinci v SERENA WILLIAMS [2] (forza Roberta!)

---------------------------------------------
3. Third-round preview: Hantuchová v Sugiyama
---------------------------------------------

33-year-old Ai Sugiyama has been Daniela's most regular doubles-partner in the
last four years. Together, they have won Birmingham 2005, Doha and Rome 2006,
and been runner-up at two Majors: French Open 2006 and Australian Open 2009.
Sugiyama has been Daniela's only doubles-partner outside Fed Cup this year, and
they are considered genuine contenders for the Wimbledon title!

When doubles-partners have to play each other in singles, the lower-ranked
player often prevails, because she has inside information about her partner, and
it's also tough emotionally to play your partner.

Sugiyama has been the lower-ranked player in all their singles-matches against
each other except in 2004, is currently lower ranked at #38 than Daniela's #32,
and leads their head to head 6:4:
- 2002 San Diego 2r: Sugiyama 6-4 1-6 7-5
+ 2004 Eastbourne qf: Daniela 6-1 7-6
- 2004 Montréal 2r: Sugiyama 1-6 6-4 6-4
- 2004 Linz 2r: Sugiyama 6-2 6-1
- 2005 San Diego 2r: Sugiyama 7-5 4-6 6-2
+ 2005 Zürich 1r: Daniela 1-6 7-5 6-4
+ 2006 Zürich 2r: Daniela 7-6 6-2
- 2008 Miami 3r: Sugiyama 6-4 6-7 7-5
- 2008 Stanford 2r: Sugiyama 6-3 6-1
+ 2008 Olympics 1r: Daniela 6-2 7-5

Sugiyama is a plucky counterpuncher; playing her is often like pulling teeth.

Sugiyama has been a tough opponent at Wimbledon even for top players over the
years. In 1996, she beat #5 Anke Huber 7-6 6-1 to reach the fourth round (which
she also reached in 2003). In 2002, she gave #4 Monica Seles a tough match
before losing 4-6 6-1 6-4. In the 2004 quarter-finals, she gave eventual
champion Maria Sharapova a mind-bogglingly difficult two sets before losing 5-7
7-5 6-1.
In 2006, she beat former champion Martina Hingis 7-5 3-6 6-4.

The good news for Daniela-fans is that Sugiyama has a terrible 6:13 win/loss
record for 2009 so far (including her two wins here). Her only four wins this
year prior to Wimbledon came in January.

At Sydney, she beat #65 Jill Craybas 6-2 6-3 and #23 Anabel Medina Garrigues 2-6
6-1 6-2, then received a walkover from Svetlana Kuznetsova to reach the
semi-finals, where she lost 6-4 7-6 to #3 Dinara Safina.

At the Australian Open, she beat #128 Stéphanie Dubois 6-0 7-6 and #69 Nathalie
Dechy 1-6 6-1 6-3 to reach the third round, where she lost 6-4 6-4 to #1 Jelena
Jankovic.

That started an 11-match losing-streak: up to and including her 6-7 7-5 6-4 loss
to #52 Vera Dushevina at Eastbourne.

But Sugiyama has reached the third round of Wimbledon with the following
results:
1r + PATTY SCHNYDER [21], 6-4 6-4
2r + Arantxa Parra Santonja [Q,S], 7-6 (7/5) 6-3

Daniela's path to the third round:
1r + Laura Robson [WC], 3-6 6-4 6-2
2r + ZHENG,JIE [16], 6-3 7-5

Given Sugiyama's form this year, I have to fancy Daniela's chances (and Daniela
herself, of course ;)), but it would be dangerous to underestimate Sugiyama with
all her experience and her 6:4 head-to-head over Daniela.

---------------------------
4. Order of play for Friday
---------------------------

Court 18 (start 12:00 BST = 11:00 GMT)
WS 3r: Daniela Hantuchová [EF] v Ai Sugiyama
WS 3r: DOMINIKA CIBULKOVÁ [14] v Elena Vesnina
WS 3r: MARION BARTOLI [12,DF,S] v Francesca Schiavone
MS 3r: Andreas Seppi v IGOR ANDREEV [29]

Full order of play:
http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/scores/schedule/

--
Dr. Andrew Broad
http://tinyurl.com/andrewbroad-hantu

=================
THE CHAMPIONSHIPS (Wimbledon, England; grass; Major)
================= http://www.wimbledon.org/
Contents
--------

1. First-round TV-report: Hantuchová v Robson
2. Second-round draw
3. Second-round preview: Hantuchová v Zheng
4. Order of play for Wednesday

---------------------------------------------
1. First-round TV-report: Hantuchová v Robson (Monday 22nd June 2009)
---------------------------------------------

+ Daniela Hantuchová [EF] d. Laura Robson [WC], 3-6 6-4 6-2

A wonderful match in terms of the quality of play, the nailbiting contest
(Daniela recovered from a set and a break down: 3-6 2-3*), and of course
Daniela's beauty (well, okay: Robson's kind of cute, too).

15-year-old Robson played unbelievably, with big, left-handed serves,
groundstrokes of flairsome power, and good hands too (e.g. to cut off a dipping
pass with a half-volley dropshot-winner at *0-1 (0/15) in the third). She is a
tremendous talent with a very bright future.
All she needs is more experience, to be injury-free, and to improve her footwork
(sometimes she takes one big step rather than several small steps, and this can
cause unforced errors).

Robson made me feel very embarrassed as a Daniela-fan in the first set, as
Daniela looked weaker and more erratic.

The momentum began to swing when Daniela was 2-4* down in the first set, as
Daniela began to hit the ball much better. Although Robson held for 5-2, and
ultimately won the first set, she was getting nervous - so was Daniela, but the
difference was that Daniela was experienced enough to capitalise on her
opponent's nerves, and Robson wasn't.

Double faults let Robson down big time in this match: she served a total of 14,
including one at *3-2 (Ad Daniela) to give Daniela the break back; she also
finished the match with a double fault.

By the third set, Robson's body-language - so positive in the first set - was
negative, and she allowed some distractions to get to her (I'll explain what
they were in my full TV-report). She was making more errors, and had lost her
way tactically.

I look forward to watching more of Robson when she defends her Girls' Singles
title next week - and to watching more of Daniela in the Women's Singles, of
course!

I'll post my full TV-report - with a blow-by-blow description of every point -
at a future date (ETA 8th August 2009).

--------------------
2. Second-round draw
--------------------

The players on the left are the ones I want to win.


Top half
--------

* Rossana de los Ríos v DINARA SAFINA [1] (Ąvamos Rossana!)
* Elena Baltacha [WC] v Kirsten Flipkens (my loyalty is to Elena)
* Kristína Kucová [LL,S] v AMÉLIE MAURESMO [17] (podme Kristína!)
* FLAVIA PENNETTA [15,DF] v Vania King (forza Flavia!)

* Maria Kirilenko [DF] v CAROLINE WOZNIACKI [9] (my loyalty is to Maria)
* ANABEL MEDINA GARRIGUES [20] v Tathiana Garbin (Ąvamos Anabel!)
* Sabine Lisicki [DF] v Patricia Mayr (komm jetzt Sabine!)
* Pauline Parmentier v SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA [5]

* Kateryna Bondarenko v VENUS WILLIAMS [3] (davai Kateryna!)
* Ekaterina Makarova v Carla Suárez Navarro (davai Ekaterina!)
* SAMANTHA STOSUR [18] v Tatjana Malek [Q] (my Passion says Tatjana, but my
Reason says Samantha)
* ANA IVANOVIC [13,DF] v Sara Errani (ajde Ana!)

* Peng,Shuai [S] v AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA [11] (jia you Shuai!)
* Olga Govortsova v LI,NA [19] (davai Olga!)
* Yaroslava Shvedova v Melanie Oudin [Q] (davai Yaroslava!)
* Iveta Benešová v JELENA JANKOVIC [6] (pojdme Iveta!)


Bottom half (Vera Zvonarëva, Maria Sharapova, Daniela Hantuchová)
-----------

* VERA ZVONARËVA [7,EF] v Mathilde Johansson (my loyalty is to VERA)
* Jill Craybas v VIRGINIE RAZZANO [26]
* Michelle Larcher de Brito [WC] v Francesca Schiavone (vamos Michelle!)
* MARION BARTOLI [12,DF,S] v Timea Bacsinszky (my loyalty is to Marion)

* DOMINIKA CIBULKOVÁ [14] v Urszula Radwanska (my loyalty is to Domi)
* Elena Vesnina v Vera Dushevina (davai Elena!)
* ALISA KLEYBANOVA [27] v Regina Kulikova [Q]
* Aravane Rezaď v ELENA DEMENTIEVA [4] (my loyalty is to Aravane)

* VICTORIA AZARENKA [8,DF] v Ioana Raluca Olaru (my Passion says Raluca, but my
Reason says Victoria)
* Sania Mirza [DF] v SORANA CÎRSTEA [28] (my loyalty is to Sania)
* MARIA SHARAPOVA [24,EF] v Gisela Dulko [DF] (my loyalty is to MARIA)
* Shahar Pe'er v NADIA PETROVA [10] (kadima Shahar!)

* Daniela Hantuchová [EF] v ZHENG,JIE [16] (my loyalty is to DANIELA)
* Arantxa Parra Santonja [Q,S] v Ai Sugiyama (Ąvamos Arantxa!)
* Roberta Vinci v ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA [31] (forza Roberta!)
* SERENA WILLIAMS [2] v Jarmila Groth

-------------------------------------------
3. Second-round preview: Hantuchová v Zheng
-------------------------------------------

Daniela beat Zheng,Jie 6-4 6-2 in their only meeting: in the third round of
Indian Wells 2008.

But Indian Wells is Daniela's best tournament, whereas Wimbledon is probably
Zheng's best: she reached the semi-finals here last year. But now, by her own
admission, she feels the pressure to defend that result.

Zheng is dangerous on grass as she hits the ball early and flat, so it bounces
low on grass, which is especially effective against tall girls. She has precise,
intelligent placement on her groundstrokes: she knows how to jerk her opponents
around.

Zheng is 20:14 for 2009 so far (including her first-round win here).

She reached the fourth round of the Australian Open by beating #59 Kateryna
Bondarenko 6-2 6-2, but retired at 1-4 against #8 Svetlana Kuznetsova with a
left-wrist sprain.

Zheng reached the third round of Dubai, beating #42 Samantha Stosur 3-6 7-5 7-5,
but losing 6-4 6-2 to #1 Serena Williams.

She reached the semi-finals of Monterrey by beating #36 Gisela Dulko 6-3 6-2,
but lost 7-5 6-3 to #13 Marion Bartoli.

Zheng reached the fourth round of Miami with a 6-4 6-0 win over #14 Alizé
Cornet, and lost 7-5 5-7 6-3 to #1 Serena Williams.

Zheng's clay-court results were relatively modest, with a third round at Rome,
and second rounds at Madrid, Warsaw and the French Open - losing 6-4 6-3 to #132
Michelle Larcher de Brito.

At Birmingham, Zheng was the top seed, but after thrashing #122 Melanie South
6-3 6-1, she lost 7-6 (12/10) 6-4 to the eventual champion: #58 Magdaléna
Rybáriková.

At Eastbourne, Zheng beat #34 Carla Suárez Navarro 6-2 6-2, but lost 7-6 6-3 to
Aleksandra Wozniak.

She has reached the second round here by beating Kristina Barrois
7-6 (7/2) 7-6 (7/4).

Conclusion: Zheng is a tough opponent, especially on grass, but she's not on
particularly strong form at the moment, so it should be quite a winnable match
for Daniela.

------------------------------
4. Order of play for Wednesday
------------------------------

Court 3 (start 12:00 BST = 11:00 GMT)
WS 2r: Daniela Hantuchová [EF] v ZHENG,JIE [16]
MS 2r: FERNANDO VERDASCO [7] v Kristof Vliegen
MS 2r: Simone Bolelli v JO-WILFRIED TSONGA [9]
WD 1r: Naomi Cavaday/Katie O'Brien v Mariya Koryttseva/Tatiana Poutchek

Full order of play:
http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/scores/schedule/

--
Dr. Andrew Broad
http://tinyurl.com/andrewbroad-hantu

=================
THE CHAMPIONSHIPS (Wimbledon, England; grass; Major)
================= http://www.wimbledon.org/
Contents
--------

1. Photos
2. First-round draw
3. Daniela Hantuchová preview
4. Order of play for Monday

Master-thread for my Wimbledon 2009 reports:
http://www.tennisforum.com/showthread.php?t=382860

---------
1. Photos
---------

The following links will be useful throughout the tournament, but I shall post
them only once:

Galleries of many players:
http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/gallery?cap=1&pg=1 (latest 200 only)
http://www.tennis.com/photogallery/photogallery.aspx?pgid=1
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/tennis/photos.html
http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/news/photos/

Where to search for specific players:
http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/players/
http://news.yahoo.com/
http://www.fotosports.com/
Getty Images

-------------------
2. First-round draw
-------------------

The players on the left are the ones I want to win.


First quarter (Nicole Vaidišová, Anna Chakvetadze)
-------------

* DINARA SAFINA [1] v Lourdes Domínguez Lino (Safina is Nicole's prey)
* Nicole Vaidišová [EF] v Rossana de los Ríos (POJDME NICOLE!!)
* Alyona Bondarenko v Elena Baltacha [WC] (my loyalty is to Alyona)
* Kirsten Flipkens v ÁGNES SZÁVAY [30] (I think I still prefer Kirsten, although
Ágnes has been growing on me)

* Melinda Czink v AMÉLIE MAURESMO [17] (anyone but Mauresmo)
* Aiko Nakamura [Q,S] v Katarina Srebotnik (my loyalty is to Aiko)
* Mariya Koryttseva v Vania King
* FLAVIA PENNETTA [15,DF] v Nuria Llagostera Vives (forza Flavia!)

* CAROLINE WOZNIACKI [9] v Kimiko Date Krumm [WC] (my loyalty is to Caroline)
* Maria Kirilenko [DF] v Petra Kvitová (davai Maria!)
* Alberta Brianti [Q] v Tathiana Garbin
* Marta Domachowska v ANABEL MEDINA GARRIGUES [20] (my loyalty is to Marta)

* ANNA CHAKVETADZE [32,EF] v Sabine Lisicki [DF] (my loyalty is to ANNA)
* Patricia Mayr v Anne Keothavong
* Pauline Parmentier v Akgul Amanmuradova
* Akiko Morigami [S] v SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA [5] (ganbatte Akiko!)


Second quarter (Jelena Dokic)
--------------

* Stefanie Vögele v VENUS WILLIAMS [3] (hopp Stefanie!)
* Anastasija Sevastova [Q] v Kateryna Bondarenko
* Ekaterina Makarova v Barbora Záhlavová Strýcová
* Carla Suárez Navarro v KAIA KANEPI [25]

* SAMANTHA STOSUR [18] v Bethanie Mattek-Sands
* Jelena Dokic [EF] v Tatjana Malek [Q] (my loyalty is to JELENA)
* Sara Errani v Stéphanie Dubois
* ANA IVANOVIC [13,DF] v Lucie Hradecká [S] (my loyalty is to Ana)

* María José Martínez Sánchez v AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA [11]
* Peng,Shuai [S] v Alexa Glatch [WC] (jia you Shuai!)
* Olga Govortsova v Tatiana Perebiynis (tough choice, but I think I prefer Olga)
* LI,NA [19] v Galina Voskoboeva

* SYBILLE BAMMER [29] v Melanie Oudin [Q]
* Yaroslava Shvedova v Monica Niculescu [S] (my Reason says Monica, but my
Passion says Yaroslava)
* Iveta Benešová v Katie O'Brien [WC] (my loyalty is to Iveta)
* Julia Görges v JELENA JANKOVIC [6] (komm jetzt Julia!)


Third quarter (Vera Zvonarëva)
-------------

* VERA ZVONARËVA [7,EF] v Georgie Stoop [WC] (DAVAI VERA!!)
* Mathilde Johansson v Melanie South [WC] (allez Mathilde!)
* Tsvetana Pironkova [DF] v Jill Craybas (aide Tsvetana!)
* Tamira Paszek v VIRGINIE RAZZANO [26] (gemma Tamira!)

* ALEKSANDRA WOZNIAK [23] v Francesca Schiavone
* Klára Zakopalová [Q] v Michelle Larcher de Brito [WC] (my loyalty is to Klára)
* Timea Bacsinszky v Vesna Manasieva [Q] (hopp Timea!)
* MARION BARTOLI [12,DF,S] v Chan,Yung-Jan

* DOMINIKA CIBULKOVÁ [14] v Julie Coin (podme Domi!)
* Urszula Radwanska v Maša Zec Peškiric (dawaj Urszula!)
* Elena Vesnina v Yanina Wickmayer (my loyalty is to Elena)
* ALIZÉ CORNET [22] v Vera Dushevina (allez Alizé!)

* Sesil Karatantcheva [Q] v ALISA KLEYBANOVA [27]
* Karolina Šprem [DF] v Regina Kulikova [Q] (ajmo Karolina!)
* Aravane Rezaď v Ayumi Morita [S] (my loyalty is to Aravane)
* ELENA DEMENTIEVA [4] v Alla Kudryavtseva (davai Elena!)


Fourth quarter (Sharapova, Hantuchová, Rybáriková, Šafárová)
--------------

* VICTORIA AZARENKA [8,DF] v Séverine Brémond Beltrame (my loyalty is to Queen
Victoria)
* Ioana Raluca Olaru v Nathalie Dechy (my loyalty is to Raluca)
* Sania Mirza [DF] v Anna-Lena Grönefeld (go Sania!)
* SORANA CÎRSTEA [28] v Edina Gallovits (hai Sorana!)

* MARIA SHARAPOVA [24,EF] v Viktoriya Kutuzova [Q] (DAVAI MARIA!!)
* Gisela Dulko [DF] v Stéphanie Foretz (Ąvamos Gisela!)
* Maria Elena Camerin v Shahar Pe'er (my loyalty is to Maria Elena)
* NADIA PETROVA [10] v Anastasiya Yakimova

* ZHENG,JIE [16] v Kristina Barrois (jia you Jie!)
* Daniela Hantuchová [EF] v Laura Robson [WC] (my loyalty is to DANIELA)
* Arantxa Parra Santonja [Q,S] v Tamarine Tanasugarn (Ąvamos Arantxa!)
* Ai Sugiyama v PATTY SCHNYDER [21]

* Petra Cetkovská v ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA [31] (pojdme Petra!)
* Magdaléna Rybáriková [EF] v Roberta Vinci (my loyalty is to MAGDA)
* Lucie Šafárová [EF] v Jarmila Groth (POJDME LUCIE!!)
* SERENA WILLIAMS [2] v Neuza Silva [Q]

-----------------------------
3. Daniela Hantuchová preview
-----------------------------

Daniela has yet to regain the kind of form she was enjoying prior to a ten-week
lay-off with a stress-fracture in her right heel from April to June 2008, but
she has a respectable win/loss record of 21:15 for 2009 so far. Still, it feels
strange to see her unseeded (she just went back up to #32 a week too late to be
seeded at Wimbledon, and would have been displaced by Maria Sharapova's
elevation to 24th seed anyway) after all the time she has spent in the top 20
and top 10 in recent years.

Daniela had what the French might call "une problčme Cornet" earlier in the
year: after losing to Alizé Cornet in the third round of the Australian Open,
she also lost to her in the second round of Paris.

Daniela reached the third round of Dubai, but lost 6-2 1-6 6-2 to #58-ranked
Virginie Razzano: her first-round opponent here. She then reached the fourth
round of Indian Wells, but suffered a disappointing 6-3 6-2 loss to #29 Sybille
Bammer, and was thrashed 6-3 6-1 by Anna Chakvetadze - who's having a much worse
year than Daniela - in the second round of Miami.

Daniela reached the quarter-finals of Ponte Vedra Beach - only to be thrashed
6-2 6-2 by #12-ranked eventual champion Caroline Wozniacki. She then scored a
6-7 6-3 6-4 revenge-win over Cornet in Fed Cup, then thrashed her 6-3 6-1 in the
first round of Stuttgart before losing 6-4 6-2 to world #1 Dinara Safina in the
second round.

At Rome, she beat Vera Dushevina 6-4 6-1, only to lose 6-3 6-3 to #8 Svetlana
Kuznetsova in the second round. At Madrid, she beat Gisela Dulko 7-6 6-1 - a
fine win on clay - but lost 7-5 6-2 to Jelena Jankovic in the second round.

At Warsaw, Daniela battled past claycourt-specialist Nuria Llagostera Vives 3-6
6-3 6-3, thrashed #81 Urszula Radwanska 6-3 6-1, then came through another tough
battle against #116 Klára Zakopalová 6-3 4-6 6-4 to reach the semi-finals.
There, she lost 6-4 6-7 6-1 to #201-ranked qualifier Alexandra Dulgheru, who
caused perhaps the biggest upset in tennis-history by winning the Premier
title!!

Daniela still doesn't seem to be as fit as she was before her big injury last
year, when she was one of the very fittest players on the Tour. To lose 6-1 in
the third set to Dulgheru seems to emphasise this.

Daniela succumbed to a very tough first-round draw at the French Open, losing
6-3 6-3 to #36 Virginie Razzano.

But her return to grass was much more encouraging. Although I was disappointed
that she skipped Birmingham, she got two wins at 's-Hertogenbosch - #53 Roberta
Vinci 7-6 6-4 and #74 Kateryna Bondarenko 2-6 6-2 6-1, who are both good
grass-court players - before losing 1-6 6-4 6-3 to Majorless world #1 Dinara
Safina in the quarter-finals.

Daniela has an intriguing first-round showdown with 15-year-old Laura Robson,
who won the Wimbledon 2008 Girls' Singles.

She could then face Wimbledon 2008 semi-finalist Zheng,Jie in the second round.
If Magdaléna Rybáriková could beat Zheng at Birmingham, why not Daniela at
Wimbledon?

If the seeds hold after that, Daniela could face Patty Schnyder in the third
round and Serena Williams in the fourth round (as in 2007, when Serena suffered
a spasm-induced calf-strain but was saved by a rain-delay).

But Serena has been struggling with a knee-injury and poor form in recent
months, and also has a tricky draw, with dangerous Lucie Šafárová in her second
round, and Birmingham-champion Magdaléna Rybáriková in her third round - I hope
Lucie or Magda will come through instead!


First-round preview: Hantuchová v Robson
----------------------------------------

It's not what I was hoping for either of them, but I'm very excited that Daniela
gets to take on last year's Girls' Singles champion Laura Robson, who, at 15, is
the youngest player in the main draw of the Wimbledon Women's Singles since
14-year-old Martina Hingis in 1995.

It would certainly be humiliating were Daniela to lose. I already had a taste of
such humiliation when Romana Tabaková - of whom I'm a demi-fan - lost to Robson
in the semi-finals of the Girls' Singles last year. I thought Romana was heading
for the title after her impressive win over Polona Hercog in the quarter-finals,
but instead she fell to an embarrassing 6-2 7-5 loss to the precocious
14-year-old Robson, and unfairly copped a lot of flak for hitting an underarm
ace (a perfectly legitimate shot) at 2-6 *3-4 (Ad Romana).

Robson then beat Noppawan Lertcheewakarn 6-3 3-6 6-1 in the Girls' Singles
final.

Still only 14, Robson made her professional début at ITF Limoges in September
2008, beating #873 Alice Balducci 6-7 7-5 6-4, but retiring in the second round.

She followed that up by reaching the semi-finals of ITF Shrewsbury, beating
#128-ranked Wimbledon 2007 Girls' Singles champion Urszula Radwanska 6-3 6-3!
She beat #123 Tzipora Obziler also 6-3 6-3, but lost 6-2 3-6 6-0 to #106 Maret
Ani.

Robson made her WTA Tour début at Luxembourg 2008, losing 1-6 6-2 6-3 to world
#42 Iveta Benešová, and learning the valuable lesson that adults fight back.

She won her first professional title at ITF Sunderland without beating anyone
higher than #461, beating #1052 Samantha Vickers 6-3 6-2 in the final.

Robson reached the Australian Open 2009 Girls' Singles final, beating
Lertcheewakarn again in the semi-finals, but losing 6-3 6-1 to Ksenia Pervak,
who was already a seasoned pro at 17, and was only playing the juniors to
justify her trip to Australia after she lost early in the main event.

Robson did not play between the Australian Open and the week before the French
Open, as she was suffering from shin-splints due to growing too quickly, and
also studying for her GCSEs.

Although Robson inherited the junior world #1 ranking from Lertcheewakarn during
her absence, she didn't play like it when she came back. She lost 6-4 6-0 to
Sloane Stephens in the quarter-finals of a junior-tournament at Milan, then lost
in the second round of the French Open Girls' Singles: 7-6 1-6 6-3 to Sandra
Zaniewska. But clay is Robson's least-favourite surface, as she doesn't like
what it does to her socks.

Robson has prepared for Wimbledon by playing a couple of exhibition-tournaments
on grass. At Nottingham, she played three matches against world #169 Olga
Savchuk, winning the middle one 7-6 1-6 [17/15], but losing the other two. At
Liverpool, she reached the final with wins over a couple of unknown British
girls and world #288 Tamaryn Hendler (7-6 7-6), but lost 6-4 2-6 [10/6] to #91
Michelle Larcher de Brito.

Ever since Robson won the Girls' Singles last year, I'd been hoping she would
get a wild card into the 2009 Women's Singles (it was only recently upgraded
from qualifying to main draw, as the LTA used their "exceptional circumstances"
clause to override Robson's WTA ranking: currently #488, which is way below
their cut-off point of #250), and was fascinated to see whom she would draw.

I was hoping that Robson would get a winnable match against someone I don't much
care for, and was kind of scared she'd get a member of my Eternal Fanship, all
of whom are currently struggling with poor form or injuries (except Magdaléna
Rybáriková, who sensationally won Birmingham).

Obviously, Daniela and Robson have never met before. I fancy Daniela's chances
after her good run at 's-Hertogenbosch. Daniela has an impressive career
grass-court record, is vastly more experienced than Robson, and is one of the
most flairsomely talented players in tennis-history. All this should be too much
for Robson, who has lost a lot of ground with her absence between January and
May.

Daniela may have to deal with a partisan crowd, as there has been a lot of hype
about Robson in the British media since she won the Girls' Singles. But
Daniela's no stranger to playing home-players at the Majors this year, having
drawn Casey Dell'Acqua at the Australian Open and Virginie Razzano at the French
Open. She only needs to draw an American in the first round of the US Open to
complete the set!

I can't wait to see this match on BBC television! The atmosphere is going to be
electric!

---------------------------
4. Order of play for Monday
---------------------------

Court 2 (start 12:00 BST = 11:00 GMT)
WS 1r: Daniela Hantuchová [EF] v Laura Robson [WC]
MS 1r: Andrey Golubev v JO-WILFRIED TSONGA [9]
WS 1r: ELENA DEMENTIEVA [4] v Alla Kudryavtseva
MS 1r: Michaël Llodra v Joshua Goodall [WC]

Full order of play:
http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/scores/schedule/

--
Dr. Andrew Broad
http://tinyurl.com/andrewbroad-hantu

=============
ROLAND GARROS (Paris, France; red clay; Major)
============= http://www.rolandgarros.com/
Contents
--------

1. Photos
2. First-round scoreboard-report: Hantuchová v Razzano
3. Women's Doubles

---------
1. Photos
---------

Daniela Hantuchová [EF]:
http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/players/overview/wta080394.html
http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news/?c=news_photos&p=hantuchova

------------------------------------------------------
2. First-round scoreboard-report: Hantuchová v Razzano
(Tuesday 26th May 2009)
------------------------------------------------------

- Daniela Hantuchová [EF] lt. Virginie Razzano, 3-6 3-6

The match was littered with breaks of serve: in fact 13 of the 18 games were
breaks! Daniela managed to drop serve from *1-0 (40/15), *2-1 (40/30) and *2-3
(40/30) in the first set; she also squandered three game-points in the first
game of the second set, and almost dropped serve from *1-1 (40/0)... all in all,
a terrible day at the office for Daniela's serve.

Daniela converted 5 of 11 break-points, but Razzano converted 8 of a whopping 21
break-points!

The other factor was that Daniela was far more erratic than her opponent, with a
W:UE ratio of 18:22 (not that bad in itself) to Razzano's 31:14 (very
impressive).

I thought Daniela had a chance to get back into the match after breaking back
for 3-6 *3-3, but instead, she just lost the last three games.

Daniela is playing 's-Hertogenbosch, so I look forward to an upswing in fortunes
on grass.


First set
---------
HANTUCH @ @___@__ 4
RAZZANO _@ @*@ @* 6

The match was second on Court 1, and started at 15:26 CEST.

Razzano serving 0-0: 15/0. 15/15. 30/15. 30/30. 40/30. Deuce.
Ad Daniela (BP). Broken.

Nice start!

Daniela's compatriot Magdaléna Rybáriková just beat Kristina Mladenovic 6-1 2-6
8-6, while Aleksandra Wozniak beat Monica Niculescu 4-6 6-4 6-3 on Court 17 a
few minutes ago - which means I will soon be following live scores for Vaidišová
v Ruano Pascual simultaneously!

Daniela serving 1-0: 15/0. 15/15. 40/15. Deuce #1.
Ad Razzano (BP #1). Deuce #2. Ad Razzano (BP #2). Broken.

Very disappointing after 40/15, and a psychological blow too. Yesterday, Anna
Chakvetadze managed to lose to Mariana Duque Marino after leading 6-3 2-0* - it
all turned nasty when she blew a 40/0 lead at *2-1.

Razzano serving 1-1: 0/30. 40/30. Deuce. Ad Daniela (BP). Broken.

An important break for Daniela. I didn't want her to be carrying the baggage of
not capitalising on 0/30 there - especially after the disappointment of losing
her own serve.

Daniela serving 2-1: 15/0. 15/30. 40/30. Deuce #1.
Ad Razzano (BP #1). Deuce #2. Ad Razzano (BP #2). Broken.

Another game-point goes begging, and no one's held serve yet.

Razzano serving 2-2: 15/0. 15/15. 15/30. 30/30. 40/30. Held.
Daniela serving 2-3: 0/30. 15/30. 30/30. 40/30. Deuce #1.
Ad Razzano (BP #1). Deuce #2. Ad Razzano (BP #2). Broken.
Razzano serving 4-2: Broken to love.

Great champions break back immediately! :)

Daniela serving 3-4: Broken to love.
Razzano serving 5-3: 0/15. 15/15. 30/15. 40/15 (SP #1). Razzano won the first
set 6-3 at 16:13 (47m).

Judging by the BBC's current coverage of Đokovic v Lapentti, it's cold and
windy: big clouds of red dust are blowing up around the court.


Second set
----------
HANTUCH _@*__@___ 3
RAZZANO @__*@ @*@ 6

Daniela serving 0-0: 30/0. 30/15. 30/30. 40/30. Deuce #1. Ad Daniela. Deuce #2.
Ad Razzano (BP #1). Deuce #3. Ad Razzano (BP #2). Deuce #4. Ad Daniela. Deuce
#5. Ad Razzano (BP #3). Deuce #6.
Ad Razzano (BP #4). Broken.

Another nasty psychological blow for Daniela, who had three game-points there.

Razzano serving 1-0: 15/0. 15/40 (BPx2). Deuce #1.
Ad Daniela (BP #3). Deuce #2. Ad Daniela (BP #4). Broken.

A very important break after missing three break-points there - and of course,
to recover from a set and a break down.

Daniela serving 1-1: 40/0. Deuce #1. Ad Razzano (BP #1). Deuce #2.
Ad Razzano (BP #2). Deuce #3. Ad Razzano (BP #3). Deuce #4.
Ad Razzano (BP #4). Deuce #5. Ad Daniela. Held.

And an important hold after leading 40/0 and then having to save four
break-points!

Right now, both Daniela and Nicole Vaidišová are a set down and 2-1* up in the
second...

Razzano serving 1-2: 30/0. 30/15. 40/15. Held.
Daniela serving 2-2: 0/40 (BP #1). 15/40 (BP #2). Broken.

Now both Daniela and Nicole are a set and 2-3* down, but at least Daniela has
broken Razzano four times in this match - Nicole hasn't broken Virginia Ruano
Pascual even once today.

Razzano serving 3-2: 0/30. 15/30. 15/40 (BP #1). 30/40 (BP #2). Broken.

Daniela's now doing a lot better than Nicole, who's about to go 2-5* down...

Daniela serving 3-3: 0/40 (3 BPs). Broken.
Razzano serving 4-3: 0/30. 15/30. 30/30. 30/40 (BP #1). Deuce #1.
Ad Daniela (BP #2). Deuce #2. Ad Razzano. Held.

Two more break-points go begging, and Nicole just lost 6-3 6-4 - am I about to
lose two members of my Eternal Fanship within five minutes of each other? :sad:

Daniela serving 3-5: 15/0. 15/40 (MP #1). 30/40 (MP #2). Razzano won 6-3 6-3 at
17:11 (second set 58m, match 1h45m).

------------------
3. Women's Doubles
------------------
3.1 First-round result (Wednesday 27th May 2009)
----------------------

+ (DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [EF]/AI SUGIYAMA)[7]
d. Emilie Loit/Kristina Mladenovic [WC], 7-5 7-5


3.2 Second-round result (Thursday 28th May)
-----------------------

+ (DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [EF]/AI SUGIYAMA)[7]
d. Arantxa Parra Santonja [S]/Ekaterina Makarova, 6-2 6-2


3.3 Third-round result (Saturday 30th May 2009)
----------------------

- (DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [EF]/AI SUGIYAMA)[7]
lt. (HSIEH,SU-WEI [S]/PENG,SHUAI [S])[9], 3-6 5-7

--
Dr. Andrew Broad
http://tinyurl.com/andrewbroad-hantu

=============
ROLAND GARROS (Paris, France; red clay; Major)
============= http://www.rolandgarros.com/
Contents
--------

1. UK TV-alert
2. First-round draw
3. Daniela Hantuchová preview
4. Women's Doubles: First-round draw
5. Order of play for Tuesday

My French Open 2009 master-thread:
http://www.tennisforum.com/showthread.php?t=379808

--------------
1. UK TV-alert
--------------

The French Open will be televised on BBC Red Button from 10:00 BST each day of
the tournament (digital viewers press Red or select the appropriate
Freeview-channel - 301 or 302).

Sunday 24th May to Friday 5th June, 10:00-19:00, BBC Red Button
Women's final: Saturday 6th June, 14:00-16:30, BBC 2
Men's final: Sunday 7th June: 14:00-18:00, BBC 2

-------------------
2. First-round draw (Sunday and Monday's losers removed)
-------------------

The players on the left are the ones I want to win.


2.1 Top quarter
---------------

* DINARA SAFINA [1] won
* Vitalia Diatchenko [Q,S] won
* Julie Coin won
* ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA [27] won

* Polona Hercog [Q] won
* Aravane Rezaď won
* Michelle Larcher de Brito [Q] won
* ZHENG,JIE [15] won

* VICTORIA AZARENKA [9] won
* Kristina Barrois won
* Lucie Hradecká [S] won
* CARLA SUÁREZ NAVARRO [22] won

* IVETA BENEŠOVÁ [32] won
* Alla Kudryavtseva won
* Tamarine Tanasugarn won
* ANA IVANOVIC [8,DF] won


2.2 Second quarter: Lucie Šafárová, Maria Sharapova
---------------------------------------------------

* VENUS WILLIAMS [3] won
* Lucie Šafárová [EF] won
* Elena Vesnina won
* ÁGNES SZÁVAY [29] won

* DOMINIKA CIBULKOVÁ [20] won
* Kirsten Flipkens won
* Gisela Dulko [DF] won
* Anna-Lena Grönefeld won

* NADIA PETROVA [11] won
* Maria Sharapova [EF] won
* Arantxa Rus [Q] won
* Yaroslava Shvedova [Q] won

* LI,NA [25] won
* Timea Bacsinszky won
* Akgul Amanmuradova won
* Olga Govortsova won


2.3 Third quarter: Daniela Hantuchová, Jelena Dokic
---------------------------------------------------

* Petra Cetkovská v JELENA JANKOVIC [5] (pojdme Petra!)
* Magdaléna Rybáriková [DF] v Kristina Mladenovic [WC] (podme Magda!)
* Jarmila Groth won
* Mariana Duque Marino [LL] won

* ALIZÉ CORNET [21] v Maret Ani (allez Alizé!)
* Sorana Cîrstea v Carly Gullickson [Q] (hai Sorana!)
* Jill Craybas won
* CAROLINE WOZNIACKI [10] v Vera Dushevina, 4-6 7-5 *0-0

* MARION BARTOLI [13,DF,S] won
* Tathiana Garbin won
* Daniela Hantuchová [EF] v Virginie Razzano (PODME DANIELA!!)
* Ekaterina Makarova v ANABEL MEDINA GARRIGUES [18]

* SAMANTHA STOSUR [30] v Francesca Schiavone
* Urszula Radwanska v Yanina Wickmayer (my loyalty is to Urszula)
* Jelena Dokic [EF] v Karolina Šprem [DF] (my loyalty is to JELENA)
* ELENA DEMENTIEVA [4] v Chanelle Scheepers [Q]


2.4 Bottom quarter: Nicole Vaidišová
------------------------------------

* SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA [7] v Claire Feuerstein [WC]
* Sania Mirza [DF] v Galina Voskoboeva (go Sania!)
* Anastasija Sevastova [Q] v Melinda Czink
* Nathalie Dechy v SYBILLE BAMMER [28]

* Kateryna Bondarenko won
* Olivia Rogowska [WC] won
* Mariya Koryttseva won
* AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA [12] won

* Alexa Glatch won
* Lourdes Domínguez Lino won
* Mara Santangelo v Petra Martic [Q]
* Monica Niculescu [S] v ALEKSANDRA WOZNIAK [24] (hai Monica!)

* PENG,SHUAI [31,S] v María José Martínez Sánchez (jia you Shuai!)
* Viktoriya Kutuzova v Zuzana Ondrášková [Q] (my loyalty is to Viktoriya)
* Nicole Vaidišová [EF] v Virginia Ruano Pascual (my loyalty is to NICOLE)
* Klára Zakopalová v SERENA WILLIAMS [2] (pojdme Klára!)

-----------------------------
3. Daniela Hantuchová preview
-----------------------------

Daniela has yet to regain the kind of form she was enjoying prior to a ten-week
lay-off with a stress-fracture in her right heel from April to June 2008, but
she has a respectable win/loss record of 19:13 for 2009 so far. Still, it feels
strange to see her outside the top 32 (currently #33) after all the time she has
spent in the top 20 and top 10 in recent years.

Daniela had what the French might call "une problčme Cornet" earlier in the
year: after losing to Alizé Cornet in the third round of the Australian Open,
she also lost to her in the second round of Paris.

Daniela reached the third round of Dubai, but lost 6-2 1-6 6-2 to #58-ranked
Virginie Razzano: her first-round opponent here. She then reached the fourth
round of Indian Wells, but suffered a disappointing 6-3 6-2 loss to #29 Sybille
Bammer, and was thrashed 6-3 6-1 by Anna Chakvetadze - who's having a much worse
year than Daniela - in the second round of Miami.

Daniela reached the quarter-finals of Ponte Vedra Beach - only to be thrashed
6-2 6-2 by #12-ranked eventual champion Caroline Wozniacki. She then scored a
6-7 6-3 6-4 revenge-win over Cornet in Fed Cup, then thrashed her 6-3 6-1 in the
first round of Stuttgart before losing 6-4 6-2 to world #1 Dinara Safina in the
second round.

At Rome, she beat Vera Dushevina 6-4 6-1, only to lose 6-3 6-3 to #8 Svetlana
Kuznetsova in the second round. At Madrid, she beat Gisela Dulko 7-6 6-1 - a
fine win on clay - but lost 7-5 6-2 to Jelena Jankovic in the second round.

At Warsaw, Daniela battled past claycourt-specialist Nuria Llagostera Vives 3-6
6-3 6-3, thrashed #81 Urszula Radwanska 6-3 6-1, then came through another tough
battle against #116 Klára Zakopalová
6-3 4-6 6-4 to reach the semi-finals.

There, she lost to #201-ranked qualifier Alexandra Dulgheru - whom I'd never
heard of before this week, and who caused perhaps the biggest upset in
tennis-history by winning the Premier title!! Daniela lost 6-4 6-7 6-1.

Summary: Daniela has no trouble winning her opening match of a tournament - in
fact, she hasn't lost a first-round match since Brisbane in January. But then
she loses her second or third match, and it doesn't seem to make much difference
whom she's playing.

Conclusion: Daniela still doesn't seem to be as fit as she was before her big
injury last year, when she was one of the very fittest players on the Tour. To
lose 6-1 in the third set to Dulgheru seems to emphasise this.

The draw has certainly not been kind to Daniela. First the dangerous Virginie
Razzano, then, potentially, clay-court expert Anabel Medina Garrigues followed
by Marion Bartoli.


3.1 First-round preview: Hantuchová v Razzano
---------------------------------------------

On the surface, there's not much to choose between #33-ranked Daniela and her
fellow 26-year-old: #36-ranked Virginie Razzano.

Daniela leads their head-to-head 3:2, but all her wins came in 2000-2002, while
Razzano won their last two encounters: 6-1 7-5 at Auckland 2007, and 6-2 1-6 6-2
at Dubai 2009.

Razzano has a 17:11 win/loss record for 2009 so far (61% to Daniela's 59%).

She reached the semi-finals of Hobart, third round of the Australian Open by
thrashing world #15 Patty Schnyder 6-3 6-1, but lost 6-4 6-1 to Anastasia
Pavlyuchenkova at Paris.

Razzano then had an amazing run to the final of Dubai, beating #2 Dinara Safina
6-4 6-2, Daniela 6-2 1-6 6-2, #5 Vera Zvonarëva
7-6 7-5, and #24 Kaia Kanepi 6-1 6-2, before losing 6-4 6-2 to Venus Williams in
the final.

She then retired from the second round of Indian Wells with a mid-back injury,
lost to #115 Julia Görges in the first round of Miami, and to #12 Caroline
Wozniacki in the second round of Ponte Vedra Beach.

Razzano was playing Vera Zvonarëva in the third round of Charleston when Vera
suffered a nasty ankle-injury, from which she has yet to return. :sad: Razzano
was then hammered 6-2 6-0 by Wozniacki in the quarter-finals.

Razzano beat #51 Magdaléna Rybáriková 6-0 6-7 6-4 in the first round of Rome,
then lost 7-6 6-1 to world #1 Dinara Safina. She beat #48 Tamarine Tanasugarn
6-0 4-6 6-3 in the first round of Madrid, then lost 7-5 6-3 to #52 Elena
Vesnina.

Conclusion: Razzano is a streaky player who can be a very dangerous floater, and
being French, is likely to have the support of the fickle crowd at Roland
Garros. I've got a bad feeling about this.

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

* (DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [EF]/AI SUGIYAMA)[7]
v Emilie Loit/Kristina Mladenovic [WC]

----------------------------
5. Order of play for Tuesday
----------------------------

Court 1 (start 11:00 CEST = 09:00 GMT = 10:00 BST)
MS 1r: JUAN MARTÍN DEL POTRO [5] v Michaël Llodra
WS 1r: Daniela Hantuchová [EF] v Virginie Razzano
WS 1r: ELENA DEMENTIEVA [4] v Chanelle Scheepers [Q]
MS 1r: JAMES BLAKE [15] v Leonardo Mayer [Q]

Full order of play:
http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/schedule/

--
Dr. Andrew Broad
http://tinyurl.com/andrewbroad-hantu

===============
AUSTRALIAN OPEN
(Melbourne, Australia; outdoor hard (Plexicushion); Major)
=============== http://www.australianopen.com/
First round (Monday 19th January 2009)
-----------

+ DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [19,EF] d. Casey Dell'Acqua, 7-6 (13/11) 6-4

I saw this match on the BBC Red Button (from 4-5* in the first set),
and have just uploaded my full TV-report - including a point-by-point
description - to my website:
http://tinyurl.com/hantu-australianopen2009

(All my other Australian Open 2009 reports for Daniela are there, but
only the full first-round TV-report is actually new.)

--
Dr. Andrew Broad

===============
AUSTRALIAN OPEN
(Melbourne, Australia; outdoor hard (Plexicushion); Major)
=============== http://www.australianopen.com/
Contents
--------

1. Photos
2. Women's Doubles: Final

---------
1. Photos
---------

Daniela Hantuchová:
http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/players/overview/wta080394.html
http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news/?c=news_photos&p=hantuchova
http://www.aapimage.com.au/search.aspx?Search=hantuchova
Search http://www.fotosports.com/ for "hantuchova"
Search Getty Images for "hantuchova"

Semi-final and final-photos added, including Daniela:
http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/2/photogallery/

Friday photos, including Daniela:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7859843.stm

-------------------------
2. Women's Doubles: Final (Friday 30th January 2009)
-------------------------

- (DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [EF]/AI SUGIYAMA)[9]
lt. (SERENA WILLIAMS/VENUS WILLIAMS)[10], 3-6 3-6

Well, they did very well to get to the final, with that amazing
comeback-win against Cara Black and Liezel Huber in the quarter-
finals!

It was Daniela's second Australian Open Women's Doubles final, but
she has yet to win a Major in Women's Doubles despite having won a
Career Grand Slam in Mixed Doubles.

For the Williams-sisters, it was their eighth Women's Doubles Major
title together.

The match was first on Rod Laver Arena at 15:00 AEDT, which is 04:00
GMT in England, so I hope you'll forgive me for not staying up to
follow live scores. ;-)


2.1 Statistics
--------------

The match lasted 1h16m, with each set lasting 38 minutes.

The statistics don't mention any aces or winners, just 20 unforced
errors and 3 double faults for the Williams-sisters (the double
faults all coming in the second set), and 19 unforced errors and 0
double faults for Hantuyama. Each team made 8 UEs in the first set;
in the second set, the Williams-sisters made 12 UEs while Hantuyama
made 11 UEs.

The Williams-sisters got 54% of their first serves in, winning 71% of
the points when they did so, and only 42% on second serve. It seems
they went for even bigger first serves in the second set, as their
first-serves-in percentage dipped from 64% to 42%, while their first-
serve winning-percentage climbed from 67% to 80%, but their second-
serve winning percentage declined from 60% to 29%.

Hantuyama got 80% of their first serves in, but won only 46% of the
points when they did so, and 33% on second serve. From the first set
to the second, they raised their first-serves-in percentage from 73%
to 86%, but their first-serve winning-percentage dipped from 50% to
42%, while their second-serve winning-percentage crashed from 42% to
0%.

The Williams-sisters had huge first serves compared to Hantuyama:
fastest 121-103 mph, average first serve 107-95 mph. At least
Hantuyama's average second serve was faster than the Williams-
sisters': 82-79 mph.

Hantuyama had almost as many break-points as the Williams-sisters,
but only broke 3 times from 7 BPs, while the Williams-sisters broke
6 times from 8 BPs. The Williams-sisters won the first set by two
breaks to one, and the second set - which had more BPs for both
teams - by four breaks to two.

In points, the Williams-sisters won 64-48 (first set 33-25,
second set 31-23).


2.2 Articles
------------

Venus & Serena win doubles-title [CEEFAX 490->493]
>>>
Venus and Serena Williams won their eighth Major doubles-title with
victory at the Australian Open.

The sisters brushed aside Daniela Hantuchová of Slovakia and Japan's
Ai Sugiyama 6-3 6-3 to claim the trophy for the third time in
Melbourne.

"I'd like to thank Serena for being the best partner," said 28-year-
old Venus. "I wouldn't want to play with anyone else. She's amazing."

Serena, 27, targets her tenth Major singles-title on Saturday.
<<<

Williams-sisters earn doubles-title [Teletext 495->498]
>>>
Title for Williams-girls [Teletext 498]

Serena and Venus Williams won their eighth Major Women's Doubles
title with a 6-3 6-3 victory over Daniela Hantuchová and Ai Sugiyama.

The 76-minute triumph in the searing heat at Melbourne was the
sisters' third title in Australia, and makes them the third-most
successful partnership in the Open Era.

Younger sister Serena also faces Dinara Safina in Saturday's singles-
final.
<<<

Triple treat: Williams-sisters take doubles-crown
By Helen Gilbert (www.australianopen.com)
>>>
Venus and Serena Williams have stormed past Daniela Hantuchová and Ai
Sugiyama to lift the Australian Open Women's doubles-crown for the
third time in their career.

The American sisters produced a devastating display to dispose of the
ninth-seeded pair 6-3 6-3 to earn their eighth Major doubles-title
together, and said the victory was as sweet as their other seven.

"They're all so wonderful." Venus said after the match. "I think we
complement each other on the court because we're both extremely
positive. We know, when the other one moves, what the other one needs
to do to compensate for that or to add to it. I think that we're so
good at putting the ball away - I think it helps us so much."

At first, the Slovak/Japanese duo appeared to have the upper hand in
the encounter, played beneath the Rod Laver Arena roof as the mercury
reached 43°C outside.

The good friends and partners, making their second Major-final
appearance as a team since Roland Garros in 2006, looked relaxed and
jovial as they strolled on court and subsequently eased into the
match, breaking Venus in the opening game.

The fast-paced tone was set immediately as Serena and Hantuchová
became drawn in fierce forehand-rallies. But Serena and Venus were
undeterred, whispering tactics to each other beneath closed
fingertips in trademark fashion. The mood of the match soon changed
when the American sisters produced several pieces of astonishing net-
play.

Venus - clad in a sunshine-yellow dress - was particularly impressive
at 4-3 when she dashed across the net like a flash of lightning to
hit a perfect forehand volley into an open court and earn a break-
point. A Hantuchová backhand-miss gave the sisters a double break,
and spectacular serving by Venus saw the 10th seeds claim the first
set.

Speaking of Venus after the match, Serena said: "She's covering the
whole net. At one point today, I literally stood back and she took
care of everything, so yeah, I just wouldn't want to face them
[Venus's shots] too much. They are ferocious."

Come the second set, each player had trouble holding their serve.
At 1-1, Sugiyama's was the first to go. Serena, Hantuchová and Venus
followed suit, and then Sugiyama got broken again.

It was the younger Williams that became the first to hold, and that
proved to be the deciding factor. Punishing tennis on Hantuchová's
serve then followed as the sisters asserted their authority at the
net to claim their eighth Major doubles-title.

While the sisters produced flawless tennis today, they admitted their
doubles-game needed a bit of help in the early days.

"I think when we first started playing, we thought we knew each other
so well we didn't have to talk between points. Someone told us -
maybe Zina [Garrison] - that we needed to talk between points," Venus
smiled.

"We never told each other where we were going to serve or anything,"
Serena adds.

"We just figured we're so close that we don't need to do that.
I think that's pretty clueless," Venus laughed.

However, there is no question about their doubles-game now.
The victory means that the sisters are now tied for the third-most
successful partnership in the Open Era in terms of Major doubles-
titles. The most successful was Martina Navrátilová and Pam Shriver,
who scooped 21 Major titles, followed by Gigi Fernández and Natasha
Zvereva (14), and Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suárez (8).
<<<

Williams-Sisters Win Third Australian Open
http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/1/newsroom/stories/?ContentID=2941
>>>
For the second year in a row, a sister-act has won the Australian
Open Women's Doubles title, with Venus and Serena Williams producing
another powerful display to defeat Daniela Hantuchová and Ai Sugiyama
in Friday's final: 6-3 6-3. The win represents the sisters' eighth
Major title overall and their third triumph at Melbourne Park; this
year's No.10 seeds also lifted the trophy in 2001 and 2003.

Cool, calm and collected under the closed roof of the Rod Laver
Arena, ninth-seeded Hantuchová and Sugiyama made the better start,
their tactic of both standing back on Venus's serve drawing errors
from the incoming volleyer. But after Hantuchová produced some fine
angles to consolidate her team's early break at 2-0, the Williamses
stepped things up a gear, breaking Sugiyama with clever crossover
play to level at 2-2.

The Japanese veteran's serve was again put under pressure by heavy
returning at 3-4, and the 33-year-old was broken to give the
Americans a chance to serve for the set. That done, they again broke
Sugiyama for 2-1 in the second, but it would prove to be the first of
five consecutive service-breaks, which kept proceedings level until
3-3, but also saw Sugiyama lose her serve yet again for 3-4.
Two games later, Hantuchová was left to keep her team in the match,
but by this time, the hard-fought contest had acquired an air of
inevitability, and the sisters gave away just one point in the final
game.

"We played a great team today: they were very tough," said Venus,
adding with a chuckle, "I'd like to thank for Serena for being the
best partner - I wouldn't play with anyone else."

Speaking for her team, Hantuchová congratulated the champions and
thanked her own partner, Sugiyama, with whom she was also runner-up
at Roland Garros in 2006. "It's a big honour for me to play with
someone like you," the 25-year-old Slovak said. "You're not only a
fantastic player, but one of my best friends."

Indeed, with their complementary styles and communication-skills,
Hantuchová and Sugiyama - who were a regular fixture on the Tour from
2005 until early 2007 - reunited seamlessly during this month's
Australian swing. Notably, they beat world No.1s Cara Black and
Liezel Huber twice: in the quarters at Brisbane, and again in a three-
hour epic at the same stage in Melbourne, saving seven match-points
in the process.

If last year's Australian Open title-run by Alyona and Kateryna
Bondarenko was a surprise, this year's event produced even more
shocks, for none of the top eight seeds reached the quarters. The
Williams-sisters opened their section of the draw by defeating fifth-
seeded Samantha Stosur and Rennae Stubbs in the third round.
Ominously, they say they plan to start playing together more often,
too: "If we keep playing, I think we can keep winning more titles,"
said Venus. "We're going to do our best to play the other Slams [sic]
this year."

After today's final, Sugiyama is projected to rise to No.3 in the
doubles-rankings, while Hantuchová and both Williams-sisters are
expected to enter the top twenty.
<<<

Williams-sisters win Aussie Women's Doubles title
Neil Frankland: AP Sports Writer
>>>
Serena and Venus Williams won their eighth Major Women's Doubles
title on Friday, beating Daniela Hantuchová of Slovakia and Japan's
Ai Sugiyama 6-3 6-3 in the Australian Open final.

The Williams-sisters, seeded 10th, were untroubled as they served out
the first set in just 38 minutes under a closed roof on centre court.

The temperature topped 113°F in the late afternoon, and the roof on
Rod Laver Arena was closed when the tournament's Extreme-Heat Policy
was put in effect.

The second set proved more difficult as the pairs exchanged breaks
six times in nine games before the Williams' powerful returns and
superior movement around the court proved the deciding factor.

"We played a great team today. They were very tough," Venus said.
"At the end there, I think we just maybe wanted it a little more."

Serena Williams, who returns to centre court on Saturday for the
singles-final, dominated at the net as they broke Sugiyama's serve to
take a 4-3 lead, then sealed the championship by breaking Hantuchová.

"I think we complement each other on the court, because we're both
extremely positive," Venus said. "We know, when the other one moves,
what the other one needs to do to compensate for that or to add to
it."

The sisters, who won the Doubles Gold Medal at last year's Beijing
Olympics, held up their rackets to celebrate the win before hugging
each other on court.

"I'd like to thank Serena for being the best partner," Venus
Williams, 28, said. "I wouldn't want to play with anyone else.
She's amazing."

The Williams-sisters now have three Australian Open doubles-titles,
having previously won here in 2001 and 2003. Serena won the singles-
title in 2003, 2005 and 2007.

They have won doubles-titles at all four Majors - a milestone that
Sugiyama was hoping to achieve by winning here with Hantuchová.

Serena, 27, who has a chance to win her tenth singles Major title
when she takes on Dinara Safina on Saturday, looked relaxed during
and after the match.

The sisters laughed and chatted between sets, and made an unhurried
exit from Rod Laver Arena after the trophy-presentations.

"I don't have to work too hard out there. Just hit some big serves,"
Serena said. "Venus hits some big serves; we put the ball away.

"For me, it's great practice, great fun. If I'm really fit, then I
like to go for the win in both events."
<<<

Williams-sisters hungry for more after Open doubles-win (AFP)
>>>
Serena and Venus Williams won their eighth Major doubles-title when
they beat Ai Sugiyama and Daniela Hantuchová at the Australian Open
on Friday, and said they were hungry for more.

The sisters claimed their third Australian Open doubles-trophy after
overpowering their opponents 6-3 6-3 in just 75 minutes.

The Williams, who also won here in 2001 and 2003, kept intact their
record of never having lost a doubles-final at a Major.

They are now tied with Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suárez as the
third-most successful Major women's team in the Open Era, behind
Martina Navrátilová/Pam Shriver with 21 Major titles, and Gigi
Fernández/Natasha Zvereva (14).

"I think we complement each other on the court, because we're both
extremely positive," Venus said.

"We know when the other one moves, what the other one needs to do to
compensate for that or to add to it."

Serena, who plays Dinara Safina for the singles-title on Saturday,
added that there was no reason why they couldn't add to their tally,
and said they would try to play together at the year's other three
Majors.

"If we keep playing, I think we can just keep getting titles," she
said.

"We haven't played so much in the last seven years or eight years.

"If we would have played during that time, we probably would have
gotten even more."

The sisters were too powerful in every department for Japan's
Sugiyama and Slovakia's Hantuchová, who were on the back foot from
the moment Sugiyama lost her second service-game.

The Japanese player was under enormous pressure throughout the match,
and failed to hold her serve at all in the second set.

The two teams traded early service-breaks in the first set - from
Venus and Hantuchová - and then games went on serve until 4-3, when
Sugiyama was broken for the first time.

Venus served out the next game to wrap up the first set and put the
sisters firmly in control.

There was a run of five consecutive service-breaks at the start of
the second set, but the Williams-sisters always looked more dangerous.

At 3-4 down, Sugiyama was broken again, and this time Serena served
out the set to love to claim the title.

"We played a great team today," Venus said.

"They were very tough. At the end there, I think we just maybe wanted
it a little more."
<<<

Williams-sisters win third Australian Open doubles-title (Reuters)
By Greg Stutchbury (editing by Nick Mulvenney)
>>>
Serena Williams achieved the first part of a 2009 Australian Open
Major double when she teamed up with older sister Venus to win their
third Women's Doubles title at Melbourne Park on Friday.

Serena is to play the singles-final against Russia's Dinara Safina on
Rod Laver Arena on Saturday.

The 10th seeds, who also won the title at Melbourne Park in 2001 and
2003, beat Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchová and Ai Sugiyama of Japan
6-3 6-3 to claim their eighth Major doubles-title.

They are now tied for third on the all-time list for Major doubles-
titles - behind the pairings of Martina Navrátilová and Pam Shriver
(21), and Gigi Fernández and Natasha Zvereva (14).

Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suárez also won eight titles, but
Venus said she and her sibling would have won more if they had played
more doubles.

"We haven't played so much in the last seven years or eight years,"
Venus told reporters.

"If we would have played during that time, we probably would have
gotten even more.

"Obviously, we have to play well [on Friday]. We played a great team
today. They were very tough."

With the air-temperature over 40°C for the third successive day,
organisers again closed the roof on Rod Laver Arena, and the American
duo hardly looked flustered, winning the first set in 38 minutes.

They continuously attacked the serve of the Slovak and Japanese,
breaking on six of the eight opportunities they had, though they did
not have it all their own way with their own service, being broken
three times.

However, their superior groundstroke-power and court-coverage proved
to be the difference, and they hugged each other when Sugiyama's
backhand volley dropped into the net.

"Sometimes we stay at the baseline because we have such great
groundstrokes," said Serena. "We lose sight that we need to come in.
Once we come in, I think it's even more dangerous.

"I have a great partner. I don't have to work too hard out there.
Just hit some big serves.

"Venus hits some big serves. We put the ball away."
<<<

Williams-sisters win Australian Open doubles-title (AP)
By Paul Alexander: Associated Press Writer
>>>
Serena Williams was happy to have sister Venus on her side of the net
on Friday so that she didn't have to try to fend off those wicked
volleys.

Their doubles title — their third at the Australian Open and eighth
Major title as a combination — came at the expense of Daniela
Hantuchová of Slovakia and Japan's Ai Sugiyama, who lost 6-3 6-3 and
had to dodge a number of stinging shots at the net, particularly from
Venus.

"I just wouldn't want to face them too much. They are ferocious,"
Serena said of her sister's shots. The sisters have faced each other
in seven Major singles-finals.

"She's covering the whole net. At one point today, I literally stood
back and she took care of everything."

It was a good tuneup for Serena's singles-final on Saturday, when she
will face Russia's Dinara Safina.

With the temperature topping 113°F in the late afternoon, the roof on
Rod Laver Arena was closed when the tournament's Extreme-Heat Policy
was again put in effect. It was opened later for the men's match.

Some top players avoid doubles, worrying that the extra time on court
might hamper their singles-prospects. While they took a long time off
from doubles as both dealt with injuries — resulting in them being
seeded only 10th at Melbourne Park — the Williams-sisters have gotten
back together recently, winning Wimbledon and the Olympic Gold Medal
at Beijing last year.

"I have a great partner," Serena said. "I don't have to work too hard
out there. Just hit some big serves. Venus hits some big serves. We
put the ball away. Most of all, I love to play doubles. For me it's
great practice, great fun. If I'm really fit, then I like to go for
the win in both events."

Fun indeed. They dropped only one set in six matches, playing better
as the tournament went along. They were chatting and laughing on
Friday as if they were playing with some friends.

"I think we complement each other on the court, because we're both
extremely positive," Venus said. "We never, ever in our lives have
said nasty things to each other. We just don't operate that way."

There's also a different mood for them than in singles.

"I think that when you play good points in doubles, you tend to smile
a little more, enjoy that point with someone else," Venus said.
"It's definitely a different kind of feeling, `cause in singles
you're so focused, you don't even smile, you just move to that next
point without any kind of elation."

The sisters held up their rackets to celebrate the win before hugging
each other on court.

"I'd like to thank Serena for being the best partner," Venus said.
"I wouldn't want to play with anyone else. She's amazing."

They have won doubles-titles at all four Majors: a milestone that
Sugiyama had been hoping to achieve by winning here with Hantuchová.
<<<

Williams-sisters win doubles-title at Australian Open (PA
SportsTicker)
>>>
Serena and Venus Williams claimed the doubles-title at the Australian
Open on Friday, forging a 6-3 6-3 victory over Slovakia's Daniela
Hantuchová and Ai Sugiyama of Japan.

It was the 14th career doubles-title for the 10th-seeded Williams-
sisters, and eighth in a Major.

"I have a great partner," Serena said. "I don't have to work too hard
out there. Just hit some big serves. Venus hits some big serves.
We put the ball away. Most of all, I love to play doubles.
For me it's great practice, great fun."

The triumph was also the Williams' third title in Melbourne after
winning here in 2001 and 2003.

The sisters are tied with Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suárez for
the third-most Major doubles-titles in the Open Era, sitting behind
only Martina Navrátilová and Pam Shriver (21), and Gigi Fernández and
Natasha Zvereva (14).

The American duo needed only 75 minutes to finish Hantuchová and
Sugiyama, who were seeded ninth, forging eight break-points and
winning six.

The Williamses won 71% of their first-serve points (20 of 28),
overcoming three double faults and 20 unforced errors - one more than
their opponents - en route to the victory.

Serena will try to sweep the women's titles at Melbourne Park on
Saturday when she faces third-seeded Russian Dinara Safina in the
singles-final.
<<<

Sisterly Sweep (Alberto Amalfi, TENNIS.com)
>>>
The Williams-sisters delivered another dose of finality to the Major
field.

Venus and Serena pounded ninth-seeded Daniela Hantuchová and Ai
Sugiyama 6-3 6-3 today to capture their third career Australian Open
doubles-crown.

Moving as if connected by a cord, the sisters swarmed the net in
shrinking the open court-space their veteran opponents had to work
with when they weren't blasting rifle-returns from the baseline.

"They're all so wonderful," Venus said of their Major titles.
"I think we complement each other on the court, because we're both
extremely positive. We know, when the other one moves, what the other
one needs to do to compensate for that or to add to it. I think that
we're so good at putting the ball away; I think it helps us so much."

It was the Williams-sisters' eighth career Major doubles-title
together. They now hold both the Wimbledon and Australian Open
crowns. The sisters, who were seeded 10th but are widely regarded as
the most dominant doubles-team in women's tennis, also partnered to
win Wimbledon and capture their second consecutive Gold Medal in
doubles in Beijing last year.

Though they generally do not play much doubles these days, their
eight career doubles Majors place Venus and Serena tied for third
among the most successful Major doubles-duos in the Open Era.
Hall-of-Famers Martina Navrátilová and Pam Shriver - who are both
working as analysts covering the Australian Open - won 21 Majors.
Gigi Fernández and Natasha Zvereva combined to capture 14 Major
titles, followed by Virginia Ruano Pascual and partner Paola Suárez,
and the Williams-sisters.

Serena summed up their success simply — picking the right partner has
been key.

"I have a great partner. I don't have to work too hard out there,"
Serena said. "Just hit some big serves. Venus hits some big serves.
We put the ball away. Most of all, I love to play doubles. For me
it's great practice, great fun. If I'm really fit, then I like to go
for the win in both events."

Serena, who faces Dinara Safina in Saturday night's singles-final,
will try to sweep Australian Open singles- and doubles-titles for the
first time since 2003, when she edged Venus 7-6(4) 3-6 6-4 in
singles, and partnered Venus to beat Ruano Pascual and Suárez 4-6 6-4
6-3. Venus swept singles- and doubles-championships at Wimbledon in
July.

Playing doubles has helped Serena - who did not produce her best form
during the first week of play - find her serve and refine her return-
game in singles. In the early rounds of doubles-play, Serena was
ripping her crosscourt forehand with more precision in doubles, and
that shot proved to be effective in her victory over Elena Dementieva
in the singles semi-final.

Though the sisters would likely have already reached double digits in
Major doubles-victories had they played more consistently together,
they could claim the single-season Grand Slam if they play all four
Majors.

"We're going to do our best [to play the other Majors this season],"
Venus said. "If  we keep playing, I think we can just keep getting
titles. We haven't played so much in the last seven years or eight
years. If we would have played during that time, we probably would
have gotten even more."
<<<

Milestones keep coming for 27-year-old legend Williams
(Saturday 31st January 2009)
http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/1/newsroom/stories/?ContentID=2945
>>>
As part of the blockbuster Williams-sisters partnership with Venus,
Serena also captured the doubles-title: their eighth Major doubles-
title together; they downed Daniela Hantuchová and Ai Sugiyama in an
entertaining two-setter in the final on Friday, stopping Sugiyama
from becoming the fourth active player to earn the Career Women's
Doubles Grand Slam. The other three players to have achieved the feat
are Lisa Raymond and, well, the Williams-sisters.
<<<

I still have to write up my full report for Daniela's first-round
match against Casey Dell'Acqua, which was televised on the BBC
Red Button. I plan to do so this weekend.

--
Dr. Andrew Broad
http://tinyurl.com/andrewbroad-hantu

===============
AUSTRALIAN OPEN
(Melbourne, Australia; outdoor hard (Plexicushion); Major)
=============== http://www.australianopen.com/
Contents
--------

1. Photos
2. Third-round review: Hantuchová v Cornet
3. Women's Doubles: Hantuyama through to final!
4. Order of play for Friday

---------
1. Photos
---------

Daniela Hantuchová:
http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/players/related/wta080394.html

Various players including Daniela:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/bnqb6n (www.sonyericssonwtatour.com)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7852626.stm
http://preview.tinyurl.com/bpub29
http://www.tennis.com/photogallery/photogallery.aspx

------------------------------------------
2. Third-round review: Hantuchová v Cornet (Friday 23rd January 2009)
------------------------------------------

- DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [19,EF] lt. ALIZÉ CORNET [15], 6-4 4-6 2-6

The match was second on Hisense Arena, so it would have been played in
the Australian mid-afternoon, while I was sleeping in England.

Nick Bollettieri <http://nickstennispicks.com/> questioned Daniela's
ability to generate power and hurt her opponents. My response is that
she /can/ do this: she does it through immaculate timing - what I call
"flairsome power" - rather than big muscles. She was certainly
generating a lot of power when she reached the semi-finals of last
year's Australian Open!

But Daniela has not been the same force since she was sidelined for
ten weeks with a stress-fracture in her right heel from April to June
2008. She lost a lot of fitness then, so her first priority is to get
that back - then she can concentrate on getting her game back on track.

The statistics imply that Daniela got tired in the third set:
obviously the score, and also Cornet's raised winner-count and ace-count.


2.1 Statistics
--------------

The match lasted 2h02m (first set 34m, second set 43m, third set 45m -
presumably there was a long break after the second set).

Daniela had a negative W:UE ratio of 30:40 (her winner-count decreased
from set to set), Cornet a positive 29:22 (including 12:6 for the
third set).

Daniela got 61% of her first serves in, winning 65% of the points when
she did so, and 42% on second serve. Her second-serve
winning-percentage dipped from 64% in the first set to 33% for the
second and 27% for the third, while her first-serve winning-percentage
dipped from 68% for the second set to 53% for the third.

The corresponding percentages for Cornet were 52%, 76% and 43%, so
it's disappointing that Daniela let her get away with so many second
serves.

Cornet had the fastest serve - 109mph to Daniela's 105mph - but
Daniela's serves were faster on average: first serve 101-100 mph,
second serve 80-77 mph.

Daniela served 2 aces and 3 double faults, Cornet 6 aces (4 in the
third set) and 5 double faults.

There was a big difference in their BP-conversion rates: Cornet broke
6 times from 7 BPs, while Daniela broke just 4 times from 9 BPs
(squandering BPs has long been an unfortunate habit of Daniela's). The
first two sets were each won by two breaks to one, the third set by
three breaks to one.

Daniela won just 11 of 21 points at the net (52%) - including 3 of 9
in the third set - which is disappointing for an all-court player such
as herself. Cornet was more selective and successful with her
net-approaches, winning 8 of 11 (73%).

In points, Cornet won 87-79 (first set 24-30, second set 33-29, third
set 30-20).


2.2 Articles
------------

Second Serve: Cornet Redux (Abigail Lorge, TENNIS.com)
>>>
Alizé Cornet and Daniela Hantuchová's third-round showdown in Hisense
Arena was one of the few quality women's matches of the day. The
Frenchwoman (No.15) was seeded slightly higher than the Slovak
(No.19), but Hantuchová is a former top-ten player who was a
semi-finalist here last year. Adding to the intrigue was the fact that
Hantuchová, 25, had ousted the French teenager from this tournament
each of the past two years.

Determined not to lose for a third straight time, Cornet prevailed 4-6
6-4 6-2 on Friday in a convincing effort that put her into the round
of 16 at a Major for the first time in her career. She struggled with
nerves in the first set – "this match was just so important to me, and
that's why I was more nervous than usual," she said afterwards, a bag
of ice on her sore right shoulder – but then decided to get more
aggressive, and raised her level significantly.

Cornet did show some nerves in both the second and third sets as well.
She served for the second set at 5-2, but started rushing and was
broken (eventually evening the match at one-set all when she held at
5-4). At that point, the momentum was clearly in Cornet's favour.

"I knew that if I won the second set, I was really ready physically to
beat her in the third set, so I was pretty confident," the elated
Frenchwoman said afterwards. Indeed, she ran up a 4-0 lead on
Hantuchová to start the deciding set, and the outcome was all but
decided. It wasn't one of the worst choke-jobs in Hantuchová's career
– Cornet played legitimately well – but it did little to refute her
reputation for folding easily.

Cornet will face Dinara Safina, who's been looking tougher and tougher
as the week has progressed, in the round of 16. Safina beat Cornet in
Sydney a few weeks ago in their only meeting, but Cornet said she
think she can give the Russian No.3 a tough test: "I think she knows
she needs to be a bit scared of me, because she knows I'm going to
fight to the end."

I expect Safina to win, but I hope the plucky Cornet plays well and
makes it interesting.

One other note: During the Hantuchová v Cornet match, I sat next to
Michel Dechy: the father of unseeded French player Natalie Dechy, who
lost to Ai Sugiyama in the second round here. Like an MLB scout
charting the performance of a pitching prospect, Mr. Dechy was taking
detailed notes on each point: he had a sophisticated system for
indicating how each point was won (forehand return, bad but lucky
volley, etc.). Dechy has been travelling with his daughter for the
past year and coached her when she was younger, and said his grids
help her prepare for future matches. I was impressed by his
meticulousness.
<<<

^I would be fascinated to see Michel Dechy's detailed notes, as I make
such notes myself when I get to watch important matches!

Out Down Under
http://www.dhantuchova.com/news.html?id=333
>>>
Daniela was unable to pull out the third set on Friday at the
Australian Open, falling to the fifteenth seed Alizé Cornet 6-4 4-6 2-6.

It was an action-packed match on Hisense Arena, but Daniela couldn't
fend off the Frenchwoman, who took the break early in the third.

Daniela did a good job of mixing up her shots and moving Cornet around
the court, but Cornet's determination was relentless.

It was a disappointing loss for Daniela, who was looking to match or
surpass her semi-final showing Down Under in 2008.
<<<

-----------------------------------------------
3. Women's Doubles: Hantuyama through to final!
-----------------------------------------------
3.1 Second-round result (Saturday 24th January 2009)
-----------------------

+ (DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [EF]/AI SUGIYAMA)[9]
d. Vera Dushevina/Olga Savchuk, 6-4 6-1


3.2 Third-round result (Monday 26th January 2009)
----------------------

+ (DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [EF]/AI SUGIYAMA)[9]
d. Elena Vesnina/Ágnes Szávay, 6-1 6-2


3.3 Quarter-final mini-report (Tuesday 27th January 2009)
-----------------------------

+ (DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [EF]/AI SUGIYAMA)[9]
d. (CARA BLACK/LIEZEL HUBER)[1], 6-7 (0/7) 6-3 7-6 (12/10)

I followed live scores casually before going to bed at the end of the
first set. Hantuyama led *3-0, were broken back once but held for
4-2*, were broken back again, had to serve to stay in the set at *4-5,
but served for it at *6-5 before finally losing out on a tiebreak.

I thought Black/Huber - the dominant doubles-team in 2008 - would
cruise through the second set, but Hantuyama won it 6-3, and recovered
from *2-5 down in the third to win on a final-set tiebreak in which
they saved seven match-points including 2/6!


3.3.1 Articles
--------------

Daniela and Ai Defeat Cara and Liezel in Thriller
http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/1/newsroom/stories/?ContentID=2930
>>>
Three seeded teams are through to the doubles semi-finals of the 2009
Australian Open, but none of them began the tournament among the top
eight favourites - at least not on paper. So Daniela Hantuchová and Ai
Sugiyama are to play Nathalie Dechy and Mara Santangelo for a place in
the final, while Venus and Serena Williams take on Casey Dell'Acqua
and Francesca Schiavone.

Most striking was the three-hour defeat of top seeds Cara Black and
Liezel Huber by the reunited No.9 seeds Daniela Hantuchová and Ai
Sugiyama: 6-7(0) 6-3 7-6(10). Black and Huber - who also won early in
Brisbane and Sydney - won the first-set tiebreak without dropping a
point, and although the underdogs regrouped to level in the second
set, the co-world No.1s seemed ready to seize the contest as they
surged to 5-2 lead in the decider.

But the popular 'Hantuyama' unit clicked into gear, as the tall Slovak
set up volleying-opportunities for the Japanese veteran. With Black
becoming vulnerable on serve and at the net, the tenth seeds forced a
tiebreak. However, Black and Huber stole back the momentum to hold
four match-points at 6/2, but they lost them all, plus another three,
as Hantuchová and Sugiyama went on to win the final tiebreak [12/10].

<snip other quarter-finals>

They may carry lowly seedings at the first Major of the year, but all
four semi-finalists boast strong doubles-pedigrees. Sugiyama owns 37
Tour doubles-titles: three of them with Hantuchová, who has eight;
their best Major result together was finishing runner-up at Roland
Garros in 2006.

<snip other semi-finalists>
<<<

Hantuchová and Sugiyama upset Black and Huber in major thriller
(Diane Elayne Dees, womenwhoserve.blogspot.com)
>>>
Top seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber have been upset in the
Australian Open quarter-finals by Daniela Hantuchová and Ai Sugiyama:
6-7 6-3 7-6.

The three-hour ordeal was an absolute thriller, with Black and Huber
finally dominating the first set with a 7/0 tiebreak-score, Hantuchová
and Sugiyama getting themselves together in the second, and
back-to-back thrills occurring in the third.

Of course, that third set didn't look too thrilling for a while,
although there were some very entertaining rallies. Hantuchová and
Sugiyama were down 2-5, and it just looked like a matter of moments
before Black and Huber won the match.

But suddenly, Hantuchová and Sugiyama began to play completely in sync
with one another, with Hantuchová setting up superb volleys for
Sugiyama. About this time, Black became somewhat vulnerable, too,
which gave her opponents some room to hit shots between her and Huber.

Hantuchová and Sugiyama brought the match to a tiebreak, but then went
down 2/6 in that. Again, the match appeared to be over, and again,
Hantuchová and Sugiyama refused to go out. They won the tiebreak
12/10, and saved a total of seven match-points.

The crowd-response was tremendous throughout, as the reunited team of
Hantuchová and Sugiyama played one the best matches of their careers.
<<<

3.4 Semi-final mini-report (Thursday 29th January 2009)
--------------------------

+ (DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [EF]/AI SUGIYAMA)[9]
d. Nathalie Dechy/Mara Santangelo, 6-4 6-3

I checked the scoreboard once before I went to bed: Hantuyama led 6-4
2-0*.


3.4.1 Articles
--------------

Williams-Sisters to Play 'Hantuyama' For Australian Doubles-Title
http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/1/newsroom/stories/?ContentID=2938
>>>
They might only be the No.9 and No.10 doubles seeds at the 2009
Australian Open, but a formidable foursome will contest the title at
Melbourne Park on Friday, as Daniela Hantuchová and Ai Sugiyama take
on Venus and Serena Williams. Due to extreme temperatures, their
respective semi-final matches had to be moved 'indoors' on the Hisense
Arena but, auguring well for the final, both teams still showed
blistering form.

Ninth seeds Hantuchová and Sugiyama - quarter-final conquerors of top
seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber - were first to book their place in
the championship-match with a comfortable 6-4 6-3 win over
French/Italian duo Nathalie Dechy and Mara Santangelo.

The foundation for the win was laid early in each set with the break
of Dechy's serve, which 'Hantuyama' built upon with seemingly
effortless verve, the tall Slovak providing countless savvy set-ups
for the dynamic Japanese veteran to execute at the net.

Indeed, when Hantuchová struck a backhand pass down the line to give
her team a 3-0 lead in the second, it seemed they would record an even
easier win. But Dechy and Santangelo mustered forces to break Sugiyama
twice in the remainder of the set; on the downside, they were on the
wrong end of most of the quick-fire exchanges at the net; more
damagingly, Dechy relinquished another two service-games, handing
Hantuchová three match-points on a double fault.

Supreme communication also kept the Williams-sisters on their winning
ways as they dispatched Casey Dell'Acqua and Francesca Schiavone, who
were surprise finalists at Roland Garros last year, but have played
only sporadically since. Although Serena seemed remarkably fresh after
her semi-final defeat of Elena Dementieva, the American No.10 seeds
clearly didn't want to waste an ounce of energy on court, overpowering
their opponents to keep the rallies short for a 6-0 6-2 win.

Playing together again after a couple of years' break, Hantuchová and
Sugiyama will be gunning for their fourth title together, but first
since Rome in 2006 - the year they achieved their best Major result as
a unit, finishing runners-up to Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur at
Roland Garros.

Now 33, Sugiyama was actually ranked No.1 in doubles in 2000: the year
she won the US Open with Julie Halard-Decugis (she also won the French
Open and Wimbledon with Kim Clijsters in 2003).

For her part, Hantuchová has been as high as No.5 in doubles, and
belongs to an élite group that owns a Career Grand Slam in Mixed
Doubles. But although the 25-year-old also reached the final of the
Australian Open with Aranxta Sánchez-Vicario in 2002, she is yet to
capture a Women's Doubles Major.

Venus and Serena might not play doubles very often, but when they do,
it is almost invariably with spectacular results. Together they have
collected seven Majors, including the Australian Open in 2001 and
2003, and most recently Wimbledon, as well as two Olympic Gold Medals.
To reach the final this week, they've disposed of No.5 seeds Samantha
Stosur and Rennae Stubbs, and No.16 seeds Hsieh,Su-Wei and Peng,Shuai.
<<<

Women's doubles finalists decided
By Katy Ghassemi (www.australianopen.com)
>>>
The Women's Doubles semi-finals of the Australian Open 2009 were
played on Thursday, with Daniela Hantuchová and Ai Sugiyama first to
book their place in Friday's final.

An in-form Hantuchová and Sugiyama - who've won three doubles-titles
together - were in control throughout the match, winning comfortably
against the French/Italian pair of Nathalie Dechy and Mara Santangelo:
6-4 6-3.

Sugiyama's quick hands at the net helped the No.9 seeds secure a break
in the first game of the match. It was a sign of things to come, with
both Hantuchová and Sugiyama showing their dominance at the net. Dechy
and Santangelo's miscommunication also helped Hantuchová and Sugiyama,
with the French/Italian pair chasing down the same ball on more than
one occasion, with predictable results.

Having lost her serve early in the set, Hantuchová made up for it by
serving an ace to secure the first set for herself and Sugiyama.

The second set was a similar affair, with the No.9 seeds gaining a 5-1
lead before Dechy and Santangelo made a late comeback to win two
games. They'd left their run too late, however, and Hantuchová and
Sugiyama clinched the match by winning the final game to love.
<<<

3.5 Final-draw
--------------

* (DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [EF]/AI SUGIYAMA)[9]
v (SERENA WILLIAMS/VENUS WILLIAMS)[10]

---------------------------
4. Order of play for Friday
---------------------------

Rod Laver Arena (start 15:00 AEDT = 04:00 GMT)
WD f: (DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [EF]/AI SUGIYAMA)[9]
v (SERENA WILLIAMS/VENUS WILLIAMS)[10]
XD sf: Iveta Benešová/LukᚠDlouhý v Sania Mirza [DF]/Mahesh Bhupathi
|
(not before 19:30 AEDT = 08:30 GMT)
MS sf: RAFAEL NADAL [1] v FERNANDO VERDASCO [14]

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

--
Dr. Andrew Broad
http://tinyurl.com/andrewbroad-hantu

===============
AUSTRALIAN OPEN
(Melbourne, Australia; outdoor hard (Plexicushion); Major)
=============== http://www.australianopen.com/
Contents
--------

1. Photos
2. Second-round review: Hantuchová v Johansson
3. Third-round draw
4. Third-round preview
5. Could Daniela win the Australian Open?
6. Andrew's wishes
7. Women's Doubles: First round
8. Order of play for Friday

---------
1. Photos
---------

Daniela Hantuchová (one second-round photo added):
http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/players/related/wta080394.html

Various players including Daniela:
http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/2/photogallery/

----------------------------------------------
2. Second-round review: Hantuchová v Johansson
(Wednesday 21st January 2009)
----------------------------------------------

+ DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [19,EF] d. Mathilde Johansson, 6-3 4-6 6-3

This match was second on Show Court 3, and took place during the
Australian mid-afternoon, when I sleeping in England. Well, not quite:
I was up finishing my first-round reports for other members of my
Eternal Fanship before their second-round matches began, and when I
finally went to bed at about 14:00 AEDT, I checked the scoreboard and
Daniela was up 6-3 3-3.

The statistics indicate that:
* Daniela had a lapse in the second set, while Johansson's
first-serves-in percentage peaked.
* The third set was actually more one-sided than the 6-3 (with two
breaks) scoreline implies.


2.1 Statistics
--------------

The match lasted 2h05m (first set 38m, second set 47m, third set 40m -
I'm guessing they took a bathroom-break before the start of the third,
as it contained fewer points than the first).

Daniela went for her shots, with a W:UE ratio of 38:38, troughing at
9:17 for the second set, with positive W:UE ratios for the first and
third sets.
Johansson's W:UE ratio was only 18:38, and was negative for all three
sets - even in the second set, it was 9:17 - the same as Daniela's.

Daniela got 58% of her first serves in, winning 62% of the points when
she did so, and 58% on second serve. These percentages troughed at
(53%, 56%, 38%) in the second set, but she improved her
winning-percentages for (57%, 67%, 89%) in the third.

The corresponding percentages for Johansson were all inferior: 55%,
53% and 46%. The big difference in the second set was that Johansson
got 69% of first-serves in (winning 60% when she did so); her
first-serves-in percentages were in the 40s for the first and third sets.

Daniela served 3 aces and 5 double faults, Johansson one ace and 5
double faults.

Daniela served faster than Johansson in all three categories: fastest
106-101 mph, average first serve 97-91 mph, average second serve 81-80
mph. I think Johansson's serves were particularly slow by WTA Tour
standards.

Daniela broke 6 times (twice in each set) from 8 BPs, which is a very
efficient conversion-rate for her. Johansson broke 4 times from 7 BPs
(1 of 3 in the first set, 3 of 4 in the second, and she didn't have
any BPs in the third).

Daniela won 12 of 16 points at the net; Johansson won 7 of 9.

In points, Daniela won 93-75 (first set 34-22, second set 30-33, third
set 29-20).


2.2 Article
-----------

Hantuchová's love affair continues
By Matthew Trollope (www.australianopen.com)
>>>
Daniela Hantuchová loves Melbourne. It is evident in her results at
Melbourne Park, and in her reaction to arriving in the city for the
year's first Major.

"I couldn't wait to get started at the Australian Open, after having
so many great memories from last year," she said. "I'm just very
excited to be here, to be playing one match at a time and really
having fun."

Last year, the glamorous Slovak won through to the semi-finals - the
first time she had progressed that far at a Major. She got past Maria
Kirilenko and Agnieszka Radwanska before falling to Ana Ivanovic: a
match in which she led 6-0 2-0 before succumbing.

She also made the quarter-finals in 2003, the fourth round in 2006 and
2007, and has started the 2009 event strongly, winning her first two
matches.

Hantuchová's defeat of local favourite Casey Dell'Acqua was a dramatic
opening-night match on Rod Laver Arena that extended to nearly two
hours. Both women had several chances to claim the first set in a
tiebreak before Hantuchová - the 19th seed - prevailed 13 points to
11. She went on to take the match 7-6(11) 6-4.

She said her 6-4 4-6 6-3 win over Frenchwoman Mathilde Johansson in
her second-round match was a much more satisfying performance.

"It was a good fight. There were some great points on which I think I
played well... I felt like I was really hitting my shots and going for
more, and I felt like I was moving better - just overall I was less
nervous [than against Dell'Acqua]," she said.

In many ways, Hantuchová's career-results – three titles and one Major
semi-final showing – are a loose translation of her talent.

After bursting onto the tennis-scene in 2002 by defeating Martina
Hingis in the final at Indian Wells and rising to world No.5 in early
2003, Hantuchová went into a tailspin. She lost form and confidence,
languishing outside the top 50 by mid-2004.

To her credit, she was able to work her way back up the
rankings-ladder before putting in a brilliant performance in 2007,
winning Indian Wells again to effectively see her career come full
circle. That year, she also won her third career title in Linz, and
qualified for the Tour Championships.

The Slovak said she is accustomed to the nerves that come with playing
on the professional circuit. "It's natural; I think if you weren't
[nervous], it wouldn't be normal. It shows that I care," she said.

"But it's [also] about how you're able to manage it, and I think I
handled it pretty well today [against Johansson]... in the first few
rounds of a Grand Slam [sic], it's always tough."

If there was ever a time that nerves could affect her, it should be
here at Melbourne Park. After making the semi-finals last year,
Hantuchová stands to lose a large bundle of points if she does not
replicate that performance in 2009. However, she said she did not view
the situation in that way. "It's actually the opposite; I feel very
honoured to be able to be in this position," she said.

It is a situation she would like to find herself in more often if she
is to rebuild her ranking following an injury-plagued 2008, during
which slipped to world No.21. Hantuchová said she has worked hard on
her fitness during the off-season, and aims to qualify again for the
season-ending WTA Tour Championships in 2009.

Should things not go her way on the tennis-court, Hantuchová has many
interests to keep her occupied off it. She is an accomplished
classical pianist, speaks four languages, and loves rollerblading,
jet-skiing, swimming and cooking.

But she is yet to indulge in these interests so far in Melbourne this
year, preferring instead to concentrate solely on her tennis. "I try
to save my energy for my matches, and I try to stay focused," she
said. "On my days off, I practise in the morning and have a massage,
and just kind of relax."
<<<

-------------------
3. Third-round draw
-------------------

* JELENA JANKOVIC [1] v AI SUGIYAMA [26]
* Lucie Šafárová [EF] v MARION BARTOLI [16,DF,S] (my loyalty is to LUCIE)
* NADIA PETROVA [10] v Galina Voskoboeva
* VERA ZVONARËVA [7,EF] v Sara Errani (DAVAI VERA!!)

* KAIA KANEPI [25] v DINARA SAFINA [3]
* DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [19,EF] v ALIZÉ CORNET [15] (my loyalty is to
DANIELA)
* Jelena Dokic [WC,EF] v CAROLINE WOZNIACKI [11] (my loyalty is to JELENA)
* ANA IVANOVIC [5,DF] v ALISA KLEYBANOVA [29] (ajde Ana!)

* María José Martínez Sánchez v Carla Suárez Navarro
* FLAVIA PENNETTA [12,DF] v ANABEL MEDINA GARRIGUES [21] (forza Flavia!)
* DOMINIKA CIBULKOVÁ [18] v Virginie Razzano (podme Domi!)
* ELENA DEMENTIEVA [4] v Samantha Stosur (davai Elena!)

* ALYONA BONDARENKO [31] v SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA [8] (davai Alyona!)
* ZHENG,JIE [22] v Kateryna Bondarenko (jia you Jie!)
* VICTORIA AZARENKA [13] v AMÉLIE MAURESMO [20] (davai Victoria!)
* Peng,Shuai [S] v SERENA WILLIAMS [2] (jia you Shuai!)

----------------------
4. Third-round preview
----------------------

As expected, Daniela's third-round opponent is Alizé Cornet [15], who
turned 19 on Thursday.

Daniela beat Cornet 6-4 6-1 in the first round of the Australian Open
2007, and 6-2 7-5 in the second round of the Australian Open 2008, so
can she continue this pattern against Cornet in the third round of the
Australian Open 2009?

Cornet's impressive 2008, which included a 3-6 6-4 6-4 win over
Daniela at New Haven (they are now 2:1 head to head), suggests
otherwise, although Daniela does have the advantage - and Cornet the
disadvantage - that the Australian Open is played on Plexicushion
rather than clay!

Cornet went 37:24 in 2008, and improved from being a good junior with
a counterpunching style to a top-16 player who can compete with the
world's best, although she's not yet ready to beat them all.

Cornet excelled on clay in 2008, reaching the final of Acapulco,
semi-finals of Amelia Island, and semi-finals of Charleston with a 7-5
6-4 win over #13 Ágnes Szávay. She had an amazing run to the
Rome-final as a qualifier, beating world #20 Francesca Schiavone
6-3 6-2, #5 Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2 6-4, and #8 Anna Chakvetadze
3-6 6-4 6-3, before losing 6-2 6-2 to Jelena Jankovic. She won her
first WTA singles-title at Budapest - albeit without facing anyone in
the top 106.

Cornet also showed some form on hard courts, beating #20/21 Nicole
Vaidišová in the first rounds of both the Olympics and New Haven.
I saw Cornet play Serena Williams in the third round of the Olympics,
and was impressed with her newfound aggression as lost 3-6 6-3 6-4.
And she beat Daniela - then #12 - to reach the semi-finals of New Haven.

Cornet suffered a 4-match losing-streak in late 2008, before reaching
the quarter-finals of Linz and losing 7-5 6-1 to #9 Vera Zvonarëva.

Cornet went 2:1 in singles-matches at the Hopman Cup, losing 6-3 6-2
to world #3 Dinara Safina, but beating Flavia Pennetta and
Hsieh,Su-Wei. At Sydney, she beat #11 Nadia Petrova 6-2 6-4 and Alisa
Kleyanova to reach the quarter-finals, but lost 6-3 6-4 to Safina. She
has reached the third round here by beating Mariya Koryttseva
6-3 6-4 and Andrea Petkovic 6-1 6-0.

Daniela has a chance of beating Cornet, but it's probably 40% at best.
She's going to have to play a darn sight better than she did in the
first two rounds!


4.1 Articles
------------

Australian Open: Day 5 Preview
http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/1/newsroom/stories/?ContentID=2909
>>>
Hisense
(15) Alizé Cornet (FRA) vs. (19) Daniela Hantuchová (SVK) - Hantuchová
leads 2:1

Player head-to-heads often acquire interesting patterns; this is the
third year in a row these two have faced off at the Australian Open -
and in a later round each time. In 2007, Hantuchová was a handy
first-round winner over a Cornet ranked No.192 in the world; last year
in the second round, she beat the French teen - then at No.59 - in two
closer sets.

But Cornet is a very different proposition in 2009: she won their most
recent encounter at New Haven in three, and with a ranking of No.14,
has to be considered the favourite today.

That said, Hantuchová - under enormous pressure to defend points from
her rousing run to the semis last year - must be pleased with the
gutsy wins that have seen her justify her seeding this week. But the
25-year-old won't be content with that - not when she knows she has
the talent to get back to the top ten. A win today would do her
self-belief the world of good, and the fact she's now the underdog
might just help.
<<<

2009 Australian Open - Nick's Picks - Women's Singles Round 3
Nick Bollettieri <nickstennispicks.com>
>>>
Alizé Cornet (FRA) vs. Daniela Hantuchová (SVK) - Cornet is the French
hope for the next wave of top players. She is really talented, but has
yet to get past the third round of a Major. Hantuchová has it all. She
moves well, can volley, has extremely sound groundstrokes, and can
serve. She has got to end the points quickly, because getting into
long rallies in this heat will not benefit her.
<<<

2009 Australian Open: Day Five Preview
Aaress Lawless (www.onthebaseline.com)
>>>
Daniela Hantuchová (SVK)[19] v. Alizé Cornet (FRA)[15]

Alizé Cornet has overtaken Marion Bartoli for the No.1 ranking in
France, and is quickly becoming that nation's biggest hope for the
future. She reached the quarter-finals in Sydney last week, and heads
into this match with the knowledge that she beat Hantuchová in three
sets during the past summer in New Haven.

Hantuchová spent a considerable portion of 2008 on the injured-list
because of a stress-fracture in her right heel. Her results since
returning have been mediocre, and the two-time Indian Wells champion
ended the season ranked outside the top 20.

Pick: Alizé Cornet in three sets.
<<<

Nerve Centre: Hantuchová v. Cornet (Abigail Lorge, TENNIS.com)
>>>
Perennial Australian Open foils Daniela Hantuchová and Alizé Cornet
met in the first round of this tournament in 2007 and in the second
round in 2008, with Hantuchová winning both matches in straight sets.
The 2009 edition of their showdown Down Under - a third-round contest
slated for Friday - is compelling not only because it should be very
competitive, but also because it features two women who are, as I
found out this afternoon, markedly different in comportment and
disposition.

Hantuchová, the 25-year-old Slovakian stunner, was unwilling to
entertain questions about her history of folding in big matches. She
lost to Ana Ivanovic in the semi-finals of last year's Australian Open
after leading 6-0 2-0 - a notoriously epic collapse. But Hantuchová
insisted that the experience – her career-best finish at a Major – was
a positive one for her.

"I think that was a great thing," Hantuchová said, rejecting the
suggestion that the memories of Oz '08 might be less than fond.
"It showed me that if I play my tennis, I can [finish] where I want. I
was very pleased making the semi-finals. So actually that was a great
match for me, to show me how close I am."

The former top-five player, who in past years has appeared alarmingly
thin, looks fit and healthy here. Hantuchová said on Wednesday that
she worked hard on improving her strength and power in the off-season,
emphasising weightlifting instead of running during her
training-sessions in Orlando.

But it remains to be seen whether Hantuchová's psyche has been
fortified along with her physique. She was eager to assume the
identity of the underdog for her third-round match on Friday, when
she'll be facing the slightly higher-seeded Cornet.

"This time she is the favourite, so it's nice to be in this position
where I have no pressure," Hantuchová said. "Tennis is as much
physical as mental, and I think the mental part is actually more
important, but the most important thing is to always keep fighting and
stay positive, even though sometimes things don't go your way."

With a reputation for mental fragility in the big moments, Hantuchová
is somewhat accustomed to matches not going her way; many
tennis-observers consider her career to be a case of unfulfilled
potential. But she began working with a new coach - Albert Portas - in
November, and has a lofty goal for 2009: qualify for the year-end
championships.

The immediate task at hand, however, is her match with a French
teenager who has, as Hantuchová acknowledged, improved dramatically
over the past year. Hantuchová and Cornet both live on the Côte D'Azur
(Cornet is a Nice-native; Hantuchová resides in Monte Carlo), but that
is where their similarities end. Energized by her 6-1 6-0 drubbing of
Germany's Andrea Petkovic, Cornet was as giddy and affable on
Wednesday as Hantuchová was curt and guarded.

"If I'm playing like that, I can go really far in the tournament,"
effused Cornet, who will celebrate her 19th birthday on Thursday.
Mademoiselle then proceeded to gush about everything and everyone in
her life, including Roland Garros ("it's my heart; I love to play on
the clay"); Amélie Mauresmo ("she's a really nice girl; she's really
funny"); her family ("I really love to be with them"), her coach of 10
years: Pierre Bouteyre ("he's like my second father or my second
brother"); her pals on tour: Caroline Wozniacki and the Radwanska
sisters ("we grew up together, so it's fun"); her hometown ("it's a
beautiful city"); and even the family pooch: Andy: named for her
favourite player on the men's tour.

The loquacious Cornet exuded a much more positive energy than
Hantuchová: she of the long legs and short answers. But more telling
is the difference in their approach to Friday's match: Hantuchová
wants to minimise expectations, while Cornet relishes the opportunity
to make the fourth round of a Major.

"I'm young, but everybody has something to lose, because when you're
on the court, you just want to win," said the birthday-girl. "I
already lost to her last year and two years ago in the same
tournament, so I don't want to lose to her a third time."

I know Hantuchová is enormously talented and fiercely focused. And I
concede Cornet's sore shoulder, which has been bothering her for two
months and worsened during the Hopman Cup, is a worry. But I pick
Cornet to prevail over last year's semi-finalist. Given the
Frenchwoman's higher seeding, it's not a nervy pick. But after what I
heard today, I wouldn't bet against her in a battle of nerves.
<<<

-----------------------------------------
5. Could Daniela win the Australian Open?
-----------------------------------------

Daniela reached her sole Major semi-final here last year, but has been
slumping since a ten-week lay-off with a stress-fracture in her right
heel last April-June, and her form in her first two matches here has
been far from convincing. For her to win the Australian Open 2009
would be the most unbelievable and desirable miracle of all!

------------------
6. Andrew's wishes (updated after Thursday)
------------------

DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [19,EF]:
3r + ALIZÉ CORNET [15]
4r + KAIA KANEPI [25]
qf + Jelena Dokic [WC,EF]
sf + VERA ZVONARËVA [7,EF]
_f + FLAVIA PENNETTA [12,DF]

-------------------------------
7. Women's Doubles: First round
-------------------------------
7.1 First-round result (Thursday 22nd January 2009)
----------------------

+ (DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [EF]/AI SUGIYAMA)[9]
d. Isabella Holland/Sally Peers, 6-1 6-1


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

* (DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [EF]/AI SUGIYAMA)[9]
v Vera Dushevina/Olga Savchuk

Full draw:
http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/scores/draws/wd/

---------------------------
8. Order of play for Friday
---------------------------

Hisense Arena: Day-session (start 11:00 AEDT = 00:00 GMT)
MS 3r: JUAN MARTÍN DEL POTRO [8] v Gilles Müller
WS 3r: DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [19,EF] v ALIZÉ CORNET [15]
MS 3r: ANDY RODDICK [7] v Fabrice Santoro [S]
|
Hisense Arena: Evening-session (start 19:30 AEDT = 08:30 GMT)
WS 3r: ANA IVANOVIC [5,DF] v ALISA KLEYBANOVA [29]
MS 3r: Marcos Baghdatis v MARDY FISH [23]

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

--
Dr. Andrew Broad
http://tinyurl.com/andrewbroad-hantu

===============
AUSTRALIAN OPEN
(Melbourne, Australia; outdoor hard (Plexicushion); Major)
=============== http://www.australianopen.com/
Contents
--------

1. Photos / Videos
2. First-round TV-report: Hantuchová v Dell'Acqua
3. Second-round draw
4. Second-round preview
5. Andrew's wishes
6. Women's Doubles: First-round draw
7. Order of play for Wednesday

------------------
1. Photos / Videos
------------------
1.1 Photos
----------

Daniela Hantuchová:
http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/players/related/wta080394.html

Various players including Daniela:
http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/2/photogallery/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7836743.stm


1.2 Videos
----------

http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/2/multimedia/default_video.asp
- Night 1 Highlights: Daniela Hantuchová v Casey Dell'Acqua

-------------------------------------------------
2. First-round TV-report: Hantuchová v Dell'Acqua
(Monday 19th January 2009)
-------------------------------------------------

+ DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [19,EF] d. Casey Dell'Acqua, 7-6 (13/11) 6-4

BBCi showed this match from 4-5* in the first set (prior to which I
followed live scores at www.australianopen.com).

Daniela played very poorly in the three games before the tiebreak, but
much more like her usual self from the tiebreak onwards. Dell'Acqua is
a left-handed player who likes to go for broke on her groundstrokes,
so it isn't easy to get into a rhythm against her.

Dell'Acqua is an even bigger choker than Daniela. She served for the
first set at *5-4 and *6-5, and wasted five set-points (one at *6-5
and four in the tiebreak).

The second set was much more comfortable for Daniela, as she cruised
through on the strength of a single break in the first game. She had
her first match-point in a game of five deuces at 5-3*; then at *5-4,
she recovered from 0/40 to serve out the match.

Daniela's form was a far cry from that which took her to the
semi-finals of the Australian Open 2008, and will need to improve
quite a lot if she is to get past Alizé Cornet in a likely third-round
match.

Sam Smith observed that Daniela had been doing a lot of physical
training in the gym, and speculated that she was putting
fitness-training ahead of tennis-training to set herself up for later
in the year, "and if she gets a few results [now], she gets a few
results".

I'll post my full TV-report at a later date.

--------------------
3. Second-round draw
--------------------
3.1 Top half
------------

* Kirsten Flipkens v JELENA JANKOVIC [1] (komaan Kirsten!)
* Nathalie Dechy v AI SUGIYAMA [26] (allez Nathalie!)
* Lucie Šafárová [EF] v Marina Erakovic (my loyalty is to LUCIE)
* Tsvetana Pironkova [DF] v MARION BARTOLI [16,DF,S] (my Reason says
Marion, but my Passion says Tsvetana)

* Sania Mirza [DF] v NADIA PETROVA [10] (go Sania!)
* Karin Knapp v Galina Voskoboeva
* Monica Niculescu [S] v Sara Errani (hai Monica!)
* VERA ZVONARËVA [7,EF] v Edina Gallovits (DAVAI VERA!!)

* Ekaterina Makarova v DINARA SAFINA [3]
* Patricia Mayr v KAIA KANEPI [25]
* DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [19,EF] v Mathilde Johansson (my loyalty is to
DANIELA)
* ALIZÉ CORNET [15] v Andrea Petkovic (allez Alizé!)

* CAROLINE WOZNIACKI [11] v Virginia Ruano Pascual (my loyalty is to
Caroline)
* Jelena Dokic [WC,EF] v ANNA CHAKVETADZE [17,EF] (having to lose one
of them so early is like a dagger in my heart)
* ALISA KLEYBANOVA [29] v Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro
* ANA IVANOVIC [5,DF] v Alberta Brianti [Q] (ajde Ana!)


3.2 Bottom half
---------------

* VENUS WILLIAMS [6] v Carla Suárez Navarro
* María José Martínez Sánchez v Akgul Amanmuradova
* ANABEL MEDINA GARRIGUES [21] v Julie Coin
* FLAVIA PENNETTA [12,DF] v Jessica Moore [WC] (my loyalty is to Flavia)

* PATTY SCHNYDER [14] v Virginie Razzano
* DOMINIKA CIBULKOVÁ [18] v Chan,Yung-Jan (podme Domi!)
* Sabine Lisicki v Samantha Stosur (komm jetzt Sabine!)
* Iveta Benešová v ELENA DEMENTIEVA [4] (pojdme Iveta!)

* Tatjana Malek v SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA [8] (komm jetzt Tatjana!)
* ALYONA BONDARENKO [31] v Séverine Brémond (my loyalty is to Alyona -
slightly)
* ZHENG,JIE [22] v Melinda Czink (jia you Jie!)
* Kateryna Bondarenko v Lourdes Domínguez Lino (davai Kateryna!)

* VICTORIA AZARENKA [13] v Tathiana Garbin (davai Victoria!)
* Elena Baltacha [Q] v AMÉLIE MAURESMO [20] (go Elena!)
* Peng,Shuai [S] v Sesil Karatantcheva [Q] (jia you Shuai!)
* Gisela Dulko [DF] v SERENA WILLIAMS [2] (Ąvamos Gisela!)

-----------------------
4. Second-round preview
-----------------------

Mathilde Johansson went 45:24 in 2008, winning ITF singles-titles at
Cali in February, and Petange in July. She got some Major experience
by losing 6-2 7-5 to Serena Williams in the second round of the French
Open, and 6-7 7-5 6-3 to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the first round of
Wimbledon (after qualifying). But she finished 2008 on a 4-match
losing-streak.

Mathilde got a couple of wins in Auckland-qualifying, but nothing
Daniela should be too worried about, as her opponents were #180 and
unranked. She lost to #144 Aiko Nakamura in the third qualifying-
round for Auckland, and to #263 Sophie Ferguson in the first
qualifying-round for Sydney. In the first round here, she squeezed
past #65 Jill Craybas 6-2 1-6 7-5.

Daniela has never played Johansson before, but should have too much
big-time experience - and of course talent - for the world #87.

------------------
5. Andrew's wishes (updated after Tuesday)
------------------

DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [19,EF]:
2r + Mathilde Johansson
3r + ALIZÉ CORNET [15]
4r + Ekaterina Makarova
qf + Jelena Dokic [WC,EF]
sf + VERA ZVONARËVA [7,EF]
_f + Gisela Dulko [DF]

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

* (DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [EF]/AI SUGIYAMA)[9]
v Isabella Holland/Sally Peers

AO Doubles Preview
http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/1/newsroom/stories/?ContentID=2899
>>>
Other seeds of note include Daniela Hantuchová and Ai Sugiyama at
No.9; Sugiyama's regular partner of 2008, Katarina Srebotnik, is out
with injury, but of course the popular 'Hantuyama' unit isn't short on
history or prospects.
<<<

Full draw:
http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/scores/draws/wd/

------------------------------
7. Order of play for Wednesday
------------------------------

Show Court 3 (start 11:00 AEDT = 00:00 GMT)
MS 2r: Dominik Hrbatý v DAVID FERRER [11]
WS 2r: DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [19,EF] v Mathilde Johansson
MS 2r: STANISLAS WAWRINKA [15] v Brydan Klein
MD 1r: (MAX MIRNYI/ANDY RAM)[9] v Greg Jones/Peter Luczak

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

--
Dr. Andrew Broad
http://tinyurl.com/andrewbroad-hantu

===============
AUSTRALIAN OPEN
(Melbourne, Australia; outdoor hard (Plexicushion); Major)
=============== http://www.australianopen.com/
Contents
--------

1. UK TV-alert
2. First-round draw
3. Daniela Hantuchová preview
4. Andrew's wishes
5. Order of Play for Monday

Master-thread for Andrew's Australian Open 2009 reports:
http://www.tennisforum.com/showthread.php?t=364478

--------------
1. UK TV-alert
--------------

The evening-sessions on Rod Laver Arena will be televised on BBCi
from 08:25 GMT each day of the tournament (digital viewers press Red
or select the appropriate Freeview-channel: it could be either 301 or
302).

This coverage will consist of the women's match on the evening-
session of the Rod Laver Arena (on days that there is one), followed
by the men's match, followed by recorded coverage of these matches
(or Andy Murray's match) on a continuous loop.

Additionally, all Andy Murray's matches will be televised live on
either BBC 1 or BBC 2 (his first match is on Tuesday). I think it's
quite possible that bits of other matches might be shown in these
programmes if Murray's match starts late or finishes early, as was
occasionally the case when the BBC used to do this for Tim Henman.

Other Australian Open coverage on BBC television:
* Saturday 24th January: highlights on BBC 1 (13:00 to 14:30 GMT);
* Saturday 31st January: highlights of Women's Singles final on BBC 2
(13:00 to 14:00 GMT);
* Sunday 1st February: Men's Singles final live on BBC 2 (from 08:30
GMT).

The Women's Singles final will be on the Rod Laver Arena evening-
session for the first time this year, therefore it will be live on
BBCi.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/6102132.stm

-------------------
2. First-round draw
-------------------
Key
---

[Q] qualifier
[WC] wild card
[LL] lucky loser
[EF] member of my Eternal Fanship
[DF] member of my demi-fanship
[S] Selesian
(* ?x v ?y) I prefer ?x to win
(!) enthusiastic support
(!!) very enthusiastic support!
(my loyalty is to ?x) I like both players, but prefer ?x
(my Reason says ?x, but my Passion says ?y) I prefer ?x in tennis-
terms, but want ?y to win because she's more attractive
(my Passion says ?x, but my Reason says ?y) I find ?x more
attractive, but want ?y to win because I prefer her game


2.1 Top quarter
---------------

* JELENA JANKOVIC [1] v Yvonne Meusburger
* Kirsten Flipkens v Rossana de los Ríos (komaan Kirsten!)
* Viktoriya Kutuzova [Q] v Nathalie Dechy (davai Viktoriya!)
* AI SUGIYAMA [26] v Stéphanie Dubois [Q]

* Lucie Šafárová [EF] v SYBILLE BAMMER [24] (POJDME LUCIE!!)
* Marina Erakovic v Petra Cetkovská (slight preference to Marina)
* Tsvetana Pironkova [DF] v Karolina Šprem [Q,DF] (my Reason says
Karolina, but my Passion says Tsvetana)
* MARION BARTOLI [16,DF,S] v Melanie South (allez Marion!)

* Yaroslava Shvedova v NADIA PETROVA [10] (davai Yari!)
* Sania Mirza [DF] v Marta Domachowska (my loyalty is to Sania)
* Monika Wejnert [WC] v Karin Knapp (go Monika!)
* ÁGNES SZÁVAY [23] v Galina Voskoboeva

* MARIA KIRILENKO [27,DF] v Sara Errani (davai Maria!)
* Monica Niculescu [S] v Katie O'Brien [Q] (my Passion says Katie,
but my Reason says Monica)
* Maria Elena Camerin v Edina Gallovits (forza Maria Elena!)
* VERA ZVONARËVA [7,EF] v Magdaléna Rybáriková [DF] (my loyalty is to
VERA)


2.2 Second quarter
------------------

* Alla Kudryavtseva v DINARA SAFINA [3] (Kud is the lesser of two
evils)
* Aravane Rezaď v Ekaterina Makarova (allez Aravane!)
* Patricia Mayr v Julia Schruff [Q]
* Kimiko Date Krumm [Q] v KAIA KANEPI [25] (ganbatte Kimiko!)

* DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [19,EF] v Casey Dell'Acqua (PODME DANIELA!!)
* Mathilde Johansson v Jill Craybas (allez Mathilde!)
* Andrea Petkovic v Kathrin Wörle [Q]
* ALIZÉ CORNET [15] v Mariya Koryttseva (allez Alizé!)

* CAROLINE WOZNIACKI [11] v Shahar Pe'er (my loyalty is to Caroline)
* Virginia Ruano Pascual v Mariana Duque Marino (Ąvamos Virginia!)
* Jelena Dokic [WC,EF] v Tamira Paszek (GO JELENA!!)
* ANNA CHAKVETADZE [17,EF] v Anne Keothavong (DAVAI ANNA!!)

* ALISA KLEYBANOVA [29] v Sofia Arvidsson
* Barbora Záhlavova Strýcová v Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro
* Yanina Wickmayer v Alberta Brianti [Q] (komaan Yanina!)
* ANA IVANOVIC [5,DF] v Julia Görges (my loyalty is to Ana)


2.3 Third quarter
-----------------

* VENUS WILLIAMS [6] v Angelique Kerber
* Roberta Vinci v Carla Suárez Navarro (forza Roberta!)
* Melanie Oudin [Q] v Akgul Amanmuradova
* María José Martínez Sánchez v TAMARINE TANASUGARN [32]

* ANABEL MEDINA GARRIGUES [21] v Isabella Holland [WC]
* Elena Vesnina v Julie Coin (davai Elena!)
* Jessica Moore [WC] v Christina McHale [WC] (go Jessica!)
* FLAVIA PENNETTA [12,DF] v Mara Santangelo (forza Flavia!)

* Kristina Mladenovic [WC] v PATTY SCHNYDER [14]
* Jarmila Gajdošová v Virginie Razzano
* Hsieh,Su-Wei [S] v Chan,Yung-Jan (jia you Su-Wei!)
* DOMINIKA CIBULKOVÁ [18] v Chanelle Scheepers [Q] (podme Domi!)

* Sabine Lisicki v ALEKSANDRA WOZNIAK [30] (komm jetzt Sabine!)
* Klára Zakopalová v Samantha Stosur (pojdme Klára!)
* Iveta Benešová v Vera Dushevina (pojdme Iveta!)
* ELENA DEMENTIEVA [4] v Kristina Barrois (davai Elena!)


2.4 Bottom quarter
------------------

* Anastasia Rodionova v SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA [8]
* Ayumi Morita [S] v Tatjana Malek (my Passion says Tatjana, but my
Reason says Ayumi)
* Nicole Vaidišová [EF] v Séverine Brémond (POJDME NICOLE!!)
* ALYONA BONDARENKO [31] v Olivia Rogowska [WC] (davai Alyona!)

* ZHENG,JIE [22] v Camille Pin (jia you Jie!)
* Sorana Cîrstea v Melinda Czink (hai Sorana!)
* Ekateryna Bychkova v Lourdes Domínguez Lino (davai Ekateryna)
* Kateryna Bondarenko v AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA [9]

* VICTORIA AZARENKA [13] v Petra Kvitová
* Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Tathiana Garbin
* Elena Baltacha [Q] v Anna-Lena Grönefeld (go Elena!)
* Olga Govortsova v AMÉLIE MAURESMO [20] (davai Olga!)

* Peng,Shuai [S] v FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE [28] (jia you Shuai!)
* Sesil Karatantcheva [Q] v Nuria Llagostera Vives
* Gisela Dulko [DF] v Anastasiya Yakimova (Ąvamos Gisela!)
* SERENA WILLIAMS [2] v Yuan,Meng [WC]

-----------------------------
3. Daniela Hantuchová preview
-----------------------------

Daniela is coming off a 2008 in which she reached her first Major
semi-final at the Australian Open, but a stress-fracture in her right
heel sidelined her for ten weeks from April to June. She came back at
Wimbledon, but had lost her fitness, and went 10:13 for the rest of
the year (overall 22:20 for 2008), dropping from #9 at the end of
2007 to her current #21.

Daniela started 2009 with a 6-7(1) 6-4 6-0 to #39 Sara Errani in the
first round of Brisbane, which implies that she has not regained her
fitness during the off-season. Daniela led 7-6 4-4* with break-
points, then lost every single game left in the match!

At Sydney, Daniela trounced #72-ranked qualifier Klára Zakopalová 6-3
6-0, made a 3-1* start to her second-round match against #10
Agnieszka Radwanska, but lost 6-3 7-5 - a far cry from her 6-2 6-2
thrashing of Radwanska in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open
2008!


3.1 First round
---------------

Daniela starts against #57 Casey Dell'Acqua, whom she's never played
before.

The Australian had a famous run at last year's Australian Open, where
she upset #15 Patty Schnyder 4-6 7-5 8-6 in the second round and #18
Amélie Mauresmo 3-6 6-4 6-4 in the third round. She also beat #14
Nicole Vaidišová 6-1 3-6 6-4 en route to the fourth round of Indian
Wells, #9 Marion Bartoli 6-7 6-3 6-2 en route to the third round of
the French Open, and #12 Patty Schnyder 6-4 3-6 6-1 en route to the
third round of Wimbledon.

But despite these fine results at the Majors, Dell'Acqua barely broke
even with a 19:19 win/loss record for 2008, and didn't play from mid-
September to the end of the year because of shoulder-injuries.

Nick Bollettieri may think Dell'Acqua can upset Daniela, but
Dell'Acqua has struggled to handle the home-pressure in Australia
this time: her only match of 2009 has been a 6-1 6-2 loss to #38 Sara
Errani in the first round of Sydney, which does little to frighten me
as a Daniela-fan!


3.1.1 Article
-------------

2009 Australian Open - Nick's Picks - Women's Singles Round 1
Nick Bollettieri (Friday 16th January 2009)
http://nickstennispicks.com/2009/01/16/2009-australian-open-nicks-
picks-womens-singles-round-1/
>>>
Daniela Hantuchová (SVK) vs. Casey Dell'Acqua (AUS)

There is no question that Hantuchová has the strokes to win
consistently, but she needs to stay healthy. She comes in ranked #21,
but has been as high as #5 in the world.

Dell'Acqua reached the fourth round last year, and will have the fans
behind her 100%. This should be good.
<<<

3.2 Second round
----------------

Daniela's second-round opponent would be either #65 Jill Craybas
(Daniela leads their head to head 4:0) or, preferably, #87 Mathilde
Johansson (0:0).

So I fancy Daniela's chances of reaching the third round (but not as
much as I fancy Daniela! ;)).


3.3 Third round
---------------

Daniela's likely third-round opponent is Alizé Cornet [15], who will
turn 19 on 22nd January. Daniela beat Cornet 6-4 6-1 in the first
round of the Australian Open 2007, and 6-2 7-5 in the second round of
the Australian Open 2008, so can she continue this pattern against
Cornet in the third round of the Australian Open 2009?

Cornet's impressive 2008, which included a 3-6 6-4 6-4 win over
Daniela at New Haven (they are now 2:1 head to head), suggests
otherwise, although Daniela does have the advantage - and Cornet the
disadvantage - that the Australian Open is played on Plexicushion
rather than clay!


3.4 Fourth round
----------------

Daniela's likely fourth-round opponent would be the nightmarish
Dinara Safina [3], who loves to fight back from the brink of defeat
as much as Daniela loves to choke!

The good news is that Daniela won their last three meetings (most
recently Sydney 2008) for a 3:2 lead.

The bad news is that Safina was very impressive later in 2008: she
won Berlin with wins over world #1 Justine Henin, #6 Serena Williams
and #9 Elena Dementieva; she reached the French Open final with wins
over new #1 Maria Sharapova and #8 Elena Dementieva - both after
trailing a set and 2-5, and saving match-points - and #4 Svetlana
Kuznetsova before losing to #2 Ana Ivanovic. She also won titles at
Montréal, Los Angeles and Tokyo, as well as the Olympic Silver Medal.

Safina started 2009 by reaching the Hopman Cup final with her brother
Marat Safin - only to be thwarted by Slovak duo Dominika Cibulková
and Dominik Hrbatý! Safina then reached the final of Sydney despite
being unhappy with her form.

------------------
4. Andrew's wishes
------------------

DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [19,EF]:
1r + Casey Dell'Acqua
2r + Mathilde Johansson
3r + ALIZÉ CORNET [15]
4r + Aravane Rezaď
qf + Jelena Dokic [WC,EF]
sf + VERA ZVONARËVA [7,EF]
_f + Nicole Vaidišová [EF]

---------------------------
5. Order of Play for Monday
---------------------------

Rod Laver Arena (start 11:00 AEDT = 00:00 GMT)
MS 1r: ANDY RODDICK [7] v Björn Rehnquist
WS 1r: JELENA JANKOVIC [1] v Yvonne Meusburger
MS 1r: Andrea Stoppini v NOVAK ĐOKOVIC [3]
|
Evening-session (start 19:30 AEDT = 08:30 GMT)
WS 1r: DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [19,EF] v Casey Dell'Acqua
MS 1r: Andreas Seppi v ROGER FEDERER [2]

That means Daniela will be on BBCi! :D I'm very relieved that the
organisers have continued to schedule women's matches on the Rod
Laver Arena evening-session after all the controversy surrounding
late finishes last year, which prompted the BBC-commentators to
suggest that there should be no women's matches in that session! :-||

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

--
Dr. Andrew Broad
http://tinyurl.com/andrewbroad-hantu

===============
AUSTRALIAN OPEN
(Melbourne, Australia; outdoor hard (Plexicushion); Major)
=============== http://2008.australianopen.com/
Semi-final (Thursday 24th January 2008)
----------

Nice winner, nice loser:
+ ANA IVANOVIC [4,DF] d. DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [9,EF], 0-6 6-3 6-4

I have uploaded to my website my new TV-report of this match, which I
recently acquired on DVD from Tennis Videos International
<http://www.users.bigpond.com/tennisvideos1/>.

I have written up a detailed description of each and every point, and
also transcribed parts of the commentary, and the players' on-court
interviews before and after the match.

Daniela led 6-0 2-0* (40/40), and also had a break-point at 3-2* in
the third set - which went with serve until Daniela at *4-4 netted a
forehand volley that should have been an easy putaway.

Now that I've actually watched the match: it was still a great
performance from Daniela - in this match as well as the previous.
She did make some blatant unforced errors at times, but I don't think
I've ever seen her hit the ball better, serve better, or move better,
than she did at the Australian Open 2008. Her problem was - as
always - between the ears.

My full TV-report is at:
http://tinyurl.com/hantu-australianopen2008

--
Dr. Andrew Broad

I have just updated Daniela's biography on my website:
http://tinyurl.com/andrewbroad-hantu-biography

It is *not* a copy of Daniela's standard WTA Tour biography, but my own
detailed appreciation of her game, followed by a review for every year
of her career. I have edited the introduction, and added a review of
2008.

I have also replaced the term "Grand Slam" with "Major" when referring
to the four Major tournaments individually. It is my New Year's
Resolution to reserve the term "Grand Slam" for the winning of all four
Majors.

I wish Daniela and all her fans a happy new year.

--
Dr. Andrew Broad

===============
AUSTRALIAN OPEN
(Melbourne, Australia; outdoor hard (Plexicushion); Major)
=============== http://2008.australianopen.com/
Quarter-final (Wednesday 23rd January 2008)
-------------

+ DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [9,EF] d. AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA [29], 6-2 6-2

I have uploaded to my website my new TV-report of this match, which I
recently acquired on DVD from Tennis Videos International
<http://www.users.bigpond.com/tennisvideos1/>.

This was the match with which Daniela reached her first-ever Major
semi-final, and now that I've actually seen the match myself, I can
say that it was a very high-quality performance from Daniela!

Daniela was full of confidence, constantly spreading her opponent,
hitting her flairsome groundstrokes with terrific pace and depth, and
also showing versatility such as forehand drive-volleys off the many
lobs she forced, and the magnificent backhand lob-winner that she hit
at *4-2 (15/0) in the first set.

Daniela: "I think every player knows what I'm talking about when you
get to that moment when you feel like everything you touch is going
in."

My full TV-report is at:
http://tinyurl.com/hantu-australianopen2008

--
Dr. Andrew Broad

===============
AUSTRALIAN OPEN
(Melbourne, Australia; outdoor hard (Plexicushion); Major)
=============== http://2008.australianopen.com/
Fourth round (Monday 21st January)
------------

Nice winner, nice loser:
+ DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [9,EF] d. MARIA KIRILENKO [27,DF], 1-6 6-4 6-4

I have uploaded to my website my new TV-report of this match, which I
recently acquired on DVD from Tennis Videos International
<http://www.users.bigpond.com/tennisvideos1/>.

It was a mouthwatering match - not just because Daniela and Maria are
two of the most attractive players in the world, but in tennis-terms!
They played some great spreading rallies; most of the points ended on
forced errors; the serving was fast and extremely accurate, but
without too many short points as a result; Daniela hit some
outstanding second serves as she fought back from 1-3* to 5-3* in the
second set, while Maria hit some amazing returns off good first
serves.

Something seemed to click in Daniela when she was 1-6 1-3* (0/30*)
down. She hit an off-forehand winner, then got the bit between her
teeth, and never looked back - at least until *5-2 (40/15) in the
third!

Maria seemed to be the more nervous of the two, and was also hampered
by a right-thigh injury towards the end of the third set, which she
had the trainer evaluate at *3-5 and took a medical time-out at 4-5*.

I'm impressed by the improvement of Maria's game compared to the
times I watched her play in 2004-2007. She does have a lot more
firepower than she did in 2005, and she retrieves very well too, and
can mix up the pace with high, looping shots and sliced backhands.
I do wish she would flatten out her groundstrokes rather than hitting
them with so much topspin, though - it would make them more
attractive, more effective as approach-shots, and more effective on
grass.

My full TV-report is at:
http://tinyurl.com/hantu-australianopen2008

It also includes reviews of Daniela's first three matches (adding no
new information to the reports I posted here at the time).

--
Dr. Andrew Broad

=================
THE CHAMPIONSHIPS (Wimbledon, England; grass; Grand Slam)
================= http://championships.wimbledon.org/
First round (Tuesday 24th June 2008)
-----------

+ DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [10,EF] d. Sara Errani, 7-6 (7/5) 6-4

I have just uploaded to my website an enhanced version of my match-
report (adding Statistics and an article) that I posted here at the
time:
http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/hantu/wimbledon2008.html

------------
Second round (Thursday 26th June 2008)
------------

- DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [10,EF] lt. Alisa Kleybanova, 3-6 6-4 1-6

At last I have got round to finishing my full TV-report of this
match - including a point-by-point description, transcriptions of the
commentary, and Statistics. I have just uploaded it to my website (at
the same URI as above).

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

==========================
BEIJING 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES (Beijing, China; hard (Decoturf II))
========================== http://www.itftennis.com/olympics/
Contents
--------

1. Photos
2. Second-round scoreboard-report: Hantuchová v Wozniacki
3. Women's Doubles: First-round result

---------
1. Photos
---------

Daniela Hantuchová:
http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news/?c=news_photos&p=hantuchova

Search Getty Images for "hantuchova"

Various players including Daniela:
http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/gallery?cap=1&pg=1

---------------------------------------------------------
2. Second-round scoreboard-report: Hantuchová v Wozniacki
(Tuesday 12th August)
---------------------------------------------------------

- DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [10,EF] lt. Caroline Wozniacki, 1-6 3-6

Swan
You glide above the thrashing
Release the catches
Strain your wings behind your back
[Scott Walker, "Face On Breast" from _Tilt_]

The match started on Court 1 at 10:49 China-time. I followed live
scores at:
http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/Schedule/TE.shtml


First set
---------
HANTUCHOV ___*___ 1
WOZNIACKI *@* *@* 6

Wozniacki won the first set 6-1 at 11:16 (27 minutes). I'm watching
Cornet v Peng on BBCi at the same time, and I thought Cornet was
humiliating Peng, but Wozniacki has beaten her to winning the first
set despite a slightly later start.


Second set
----------
HANTUCHOV __* *__@_ 3
WOZNIACKI @* * *@ @ 6

David Garrido (commentating on Cornet v Peng): "Seems to have pretty
much all the elements of her game formed, the young Dane."

And courtesy of the break back from 2-5*, Daniela has managed to
detain Wozniacki past the end of Cornet's win over Peng - but only
just, as Wozniacki won 6-1 6-3 at 11:59 (second set 43m, match 1h10m).


Article
-------

Schiavone and Wozniacki upset seeds in Women's Singles
http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/sports/headlines/tennis/n214532732.shtml
>>>
Italian Francesca Schiavone and Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark both
surprised higher-seeded opponents to advance to the final 16 of the
Women's Singles event at the Olympic Green Tennis Centre on Tuesday
12th August.

Rising Danish star Wozniacki pulled off another surprise, defeating
No.10 seed Daniela Hantuchová of Slovakia 6-1 6-3 to book a spot in
the third round.

The Dane took advantage of 42 unforced errors from her opponent to
take control, and although Hantuchová broke back when Wozniacki
served for the match, she regrouped to break back and secure the win.

"I feel like I played a good game, and I'm so happy that I won over
Hantuchová," Wozniacki said.

"It's a great win for me as she is a very good player."
<<<

--------------------------------------
3. Women's Doubles: First-round result (Tuesday 12th August)
--------------------------------------

- Daniela Hantuchová [EF]/Janette Husárová
lt. (YAN,ZI [S]/ZHENG,JIE)[8], 1-6 6-7 (9/11)

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

==========================
BEIJING 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES (Beijing, China; hard (Decoturf II))
========================== http://www.itftennis.com/olympics/
Contents
--------

1. Photos
2. First-round scoreboard-report: Hantuchová v Sugiyama (Part 2)
3. Second-round draw
4. Second-round preview: Hantuchová v Wozniacki
5. Andrew's wishes
6. Order of play for Tuesday

---------
1. Photos
---------

Opening ceremony including Daniela:
http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/2/photogallery/?Event=olympics_pre

-------------------------------------------------------
2. First-round scoreboard-report: Hantuchová v Sugiyama
(Part 2: Monday 11th August)
-------------------------------------------------------

+ DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [10,EF] d. Ai Sugiyama, 6-2 7-5

I followed live scores at:
http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/Schedule/TE.shtml (Live Result
gives live scores, while Match Statistics tells you the sequence of
games and who was serving - the wrong way round)

The match resumed on Court 2 at approximately 12:35 China-time, with
Daniela leading 6-2 3-0* (15/30*).


Second set
----------
HANTUCHO *@* * *___*@ 7
SUGIYAMA ___* * *@*__ 5

Daniela served for the match at *5-3, but couldn't serve it out.
She had at least two match-points before *5-5, from what I gather
from http://www.tennisforum.com/showthread.php?t=352898.

The scoreboard erroneously said it was 6-6 in the second set, but
reverted back to 6-5*, then Daniela broke to win 6-2 7-5 at 13:19
(excluding all the rain-delays, the second set took 1h14m and the
match 1h49m).

--------------------
3. Second-round draw
--------------------

* Lucie Šafárová [EF] v
(1r: Tzipora Obziler [A] v Mariya Koryttseva, *3-5)
* Sybille Bammer v PATTY SCHNYDER [13]
* VERA ZVONARËVA [9,EF] v Shahar Pe'er (my loyalty is to Vera)
* Francesca Schiavone v AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA [8]

* Samantha Stosur v SERENA WILLIAMS [4] (go Sam!)
* Peng,Shuai [S] v ALIZÉ CORNET [15] (may the better win)
* DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [10,EF] v Caroline Wozniacki (my loyalty is to
Daniela)
* ELENA DEMENTIEVA [5] v Sofia Arvidsson (davai Elena!)

* Iveta Benešová v VENUS WILLIAMS [7] (pojdme Iveta!)
* VICTORIA AZARENKA [12] v Casey Dell'Acqua (davai Victoria)
* Virginie Razzano v Kaia Kanepi
* (1r: Marina Erakovic v Ayumi Morita [WC,S], 7-5 6-7 (7/9) 1-0*) v
Li,Na

* María-José Martínez Sánchez v DINARA SAFINA [6]
* Zheng,Jie v Nuria Llagostera Vives [WC] (jia you Jie!)
* Tsvetana Pironkova [DF] v DOMINIKA CIBULKOVÁ [16] (my loyalty is to
Tsvetana)
* Alyona Bondarenko v JELENA JANKOVIC [2] (davai Alyona!)

-----------------------------------------------
4. Second-round preview: Hantuchová v Wozniacki
-----------------------------------------------

Daniela has never played Caroline Wozniacki before, but Wozniacki
beat the most similar player to Daniela in the Wimbledon 2006 Girls'
Singles final: Magdaléna Rybáriková (Magda is a tall, gorgeous
Slovenka like Daniela, has a big forehand and likes hitting backhands
down the line and backhand drop-volleys like Daniela, and Magda was
beating Wozniacki in that final until she bizarrely changed tactics
and started slicing her backhands instead).

Wozniacki was just 15 then, but she turned 18 on 11th July, and is up
to #22 in the WTA rankings, while Magda reached her career-high #91
today, and Daniela is much higher than either of them at #12.

However, I'd have to admit that Wozniacki is very likely to beat
Daniela on current form. Daniela is really struggling since she came
back from a long lay-off with a stress-fracture in her right heel
that can never fully heal, while Caroline just won her maiden WTA
singles-title at Stockholm for the loss of just 19 games (including
world #10 Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4 6-1 in the semis, and #63 Vera
Dushevina 6-0 6-2 in the final).

Wozniacki boasts an impressive 33:13 win/loss record for 2008 so far,
including a fourth-round berth at the Australian Open, and a 6-2 6-3
win over world #9 Marion Bartoli en route to the Doha quarter-finals -
and she improved on that score with a 6-3 6-1 thrashing of Bartoli at
Miami.

Most impressively of all, she thrashed #4 Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2 6-2
at Eastbourne! (I was standing at the top of the stadium for the last
couple of games of that match.)

Caroline is certainly capable of hitting winners, but she doesn't
have that go-for-broke attitude that so many players of her age do.
She gets a lot of balls back, and I remember her third-round match
against Ana Ivanovic at the French Open: the first set was tight
(6-4), and Caroline had Ana "swatting away like she's trying to get
rid of a particularly persistent fly"
[Alastair Eykyn: BBC commentator].

Caroline is also a pretty girl: I like her long, loose hair, and she
looked quite delectable in the skimpy tops that she wore at
Wimbledon! ;-)

Caroline scored an easy 6-4 6-1 win over Selima Sfar on Sunday, so
she has the added advantage of having had Monday off.

------------------
5. Andrew's wishes (updated after Monday)
------------------

DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [10,EF]:
2r + Caroline Wozniacki
3r + ELENA DEMENTIEVA [5]
qf + (2r: Peng,Shuai [S] v ALIZÉ CORNET [15])
sf + VERA ZVONARËVA [9,EF]
_f + Tsvetana Pironkova [DF]

GOLD: Daniela Hantuchová
SILVER: Tsvetana Pironkova
BRONZE: Vera Zvonarëva

----------------------------
6. Order of play for Tuesday
----------------------------

Court 3 (start 10:30 China-time = 02:30 GMT = 03:30 BST)
WS 2r: DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [10,EF] v Caroline Wozniacki
WS 2r: María-José Martínez Sánchez v DINARA SAFINA [6]
(Not before 17:00)
WS 1r: Marina Erakovic v Ayumi Morita [WC,S], 7-5 6-7 (7/9) 1-0*
WS 2r: VERA ZVONARËVA [9,EF] v Shahar Pe'er
WS 2r: ELENA DEMENTIEVA [5] v Sofia Arvidsson
MS 2r: FERNANDO GONZÁLEZ [12] v Marin Cilic

Full order of play:
http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/INF/TE/C58/TE0000Y12.shtml

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

==========================
BEIJING 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES (Beijing, China; hard (Decoturf II))
========================== http://www.itftennis.com/olympics/
Contents
--------

1. Photos
2. First-round scoreboard-report: Hantuchová v Sugiyama (Part 1)
3. First-round draw
4. Order of play for Monday

---------
1. Photos
---------

Search Getty Images for "hantuchova"

Various players including Daniela:
http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/gallery?cap=1&pg=1

-------------------------------------------------------
2. First-round scoreboard-report: Hantuchová v Sugiyama
(Part 1: Sunday 10th August)
-------------------------------------------------------

* DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [10,EF] v Ai Sugiyama, 6-2 3-0* (15/30*)

Well, contrary to what I expected, Daniela has made a very good start
here, and Sugiyama a very bad one! But a new day is a new day, and as
every Daniela-fan should know by now, there's a big difference
between being a set and 3-0 up and actually winning the match!

The match started on Court 2 at approximately 15:20 China-time.
I followed live scores at:
http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/Schedule/TE.shtml (more up to
date)
http://www.scorestand.com/tennis (tells you who's serving, and lets
you follow all the matches on one page)


First set
---------
HANTUCHO *@*@*__@ 6
SUGIYAMA _____*@_ 2

There was a rain-delay from 15:28 to approximately 15:40, with
Daniela leading *2-0.

Daniela won the first set 6-2 at 16:04 (35 minutes excluding the rain-
delay).

According to comments at http://www.tennisforum.com/showthread.php?
t=352779&page=26 , Daniela was playing very well, and spreading
Sugiyama from side to side.

Sugiyama was playing very badly, and apparently the crowd /are/
against her (as much as I hate to go into politics, Japan's presence
at the Beijing Olympics is controversial according to a BBC
commentator when Japan appeared in the opening ceremony).


Second set
----------
HANTUCHO *@* 3
SUGIYAMA ___ 0

There was a rain-delay from 16:23, with Daniela leading 3-0*
(15/30*). Play was abandoned for the day at 18:54.

-------------------
3. First-round draw
-------------------
3.1 Top half (all four of my Eternal Fanship)
------------

* Tzipora Obziler [A] v Mariya Koryttseva (ajde Ana!)
* Lucie Šafárová [EF] v Maret Ani [A] (POJDME LUCIE!!)
* Anabel Medina Garrigues v Sybille Bammer
* Jill Craybas v PATTY SCHNYDER [13]

* VERA ZVONARËVA [9,EF] v Yan,Zi [S] (my loyalty is to Vera)
* Shahar Pe'er v Sorana Cîrstea (my loyalty is to Shahar)
* Francesca Schiavone won
* Chan,Yung-Jan [WC] v AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA [8] (jia you Yung-Jan!)

* Olga Govortsova v SERENA WILLIAMS [4], 3-6 1-2*
* Samantha Stosur won
* Peng,Shuai [S] v Carla Suárez Navarro, 7-5 2-0*
* Nicole Vaidišová [EF] v ALIZÉ CORNET [15], 6-4 1-6 *0-0

* DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [10,EF] v Ai Sugiyama, 6-2 3-0* (15/30*)
* Caroline Wozniacki won
* Tamarine Tanasugarn [WC] v Sofia Arvidsson
* ELENA DEMENTIEVA [5] v Kateryna Bondarenko (davai Elena!)


3.2 Bottom half
---------------

* Timea Bacsinszky v VENUS WILLIAMS [7] (hopp Timea!)
* Sania Mirza [DF] v Iveta Benešová (my loyalty is to Sania)
* Gisela Dulko [DF] v Casey Dell'Acqua (Ąvamos Gisela!)
* Tatiana Perebiynis v VICTORIA AZARENKA [12] (my Reason says
Victoria, but my Passion says Tatiana)

* FLAVIA PENNETTA [14,DF] v Kaia Kanepi (forza Flavia!)
* Eleni Daniilidou v Virginie Razzano
* Marina Erakovic v Ayumi Morita [WC,S] (my loyalty is to Marina)
* Li,Na v SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA [3] (jia you Na!)

* Mara Santangelo v DINARA SAFINA [6] (forza Mara!)
* Alicia Molik [WC] v María-José Martínez Sánchez (go Alicia!)
* Klára Zakopalová v Nuria Llagostera Vives [WC] (pojdme Klára!)
* Zheng,Jie v ÁGNES SZÁVAY [11] (jia you Jie!)

* DOMINIKA CIBULKOVÁ [16] v Pauline Parmentier (podme Domi!)
* Tsvetana Pironkova [DF] won
* Alyona Bondarenko v Milagros Sequera (davai Alyona!)
* Cara Black [WC] v JELENA JANKOVIC [2] (go Cara!)

---------------------------
4. Order of play for Monday
---------------------------

Show Court 2 (start 10:30 China-time = 02:30 GMT = 03:30 BST)
WS 1r: Mara Santangelo v DINARA SAFINA [6]
WS 1r: DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [10,EF] v Ai Sugiyama (6-2 3-0*)
WS 1r: Janko Tipsarevic v DAVID FERRER [5]
(Not before 17:00)
WS 1r: Zheng,Jie v ÁGNES SZÁVAY [11]
MD 1r: Jonas Björkman/Robin Söderling
v (RAFAEL NADAL/TOMMY ROBREDO)[6]
MD 1r: Andy Murray/Jamie Murray v Daniel Nestor/Frederic Niemeyer
WS 1r: ELENA DEMENTIEVA [5] v Kateryna Bondarenko

The full order of play is at:
http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/INF/TE/C58/TE0000Y11.shtml

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

==========================
BEIJING 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES (Beijing, China; hard (Decoturf II))
========================== http://www.itftennis.com/olympics/
Contents
--------

1. UK TV-alert
2. Opening ceremony
3. First-round draw
4. Daniela Hantuchová preview
5. Andrew's wishes
6. Women's Doubles: First-round draw
7. Order of play for Sunday

--------------
1. UK TV-alert
--------------

On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, the tennis will be played in two
sessions each day, the start-times as follows:
* 10:30 China-time = 02:30 GMT = 03:30 BST
* 17:00 China-time = 09:00 GMT = 10:00 BST

The following information applies to viewers with access to BBC 1,
BBC 2, and Freeview BBCi:

These days will be televised by the BBC as follows (start-times in
BST):
* Sunday 03:30 (Freeview 301), 11:00 (Freeview 302), 14:30 (BBC 2),
23:00 (Freeview 302)
* Monday 05:00 (Freeview Red button), 14:00 (BBC 1)
* Tuesday 03:30 (Freeview Red button), 12:00 (Freeview 301)

"Freeview Red button" refers to Freeview-channel 81, but timer-
recorders beware: if you just tune into it without pressing the Red
button, you'll get a screen saying "BBC Parliament has been
suspended... press RED" (I have written to the BBC to complain about
this).

From Wednesday to the second Sunday, the tennis will be played in one
session each day:
* 16:00 China-time = 08:00 GMT = 09:00 BST)

These days will be televised by the BBC as follows (start-times in
BST):
* Wednesday 09:00 (Freeview 302), 17:15 (BBC 2)
* Thursday 13:45 (BBC 1)
* Friday 09:30 (Freeview 301)
* Saturday/Sunday: information not yet available

I do not guarantee that the above information is up to date; it may
change dynamically and without notice - especially the BBCi schedule.
The following web-page gives details of the BBC's tennis-coverage a
day ahead (Freeview, satellite, cable and online):
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/tennis/default.stm

Freeview-viewers should also keep up to date with the "Interactive TV
schedule" (press Red, then Select, then Blue, then select "BBC Sport
Listings" from the menu).

-------------------
2. Opening ceremony (The Bird's Nest, Friday 8th August)
-------------------

I watched the whole ceremony on BBC 1.

After a magnificent, atmospheric and selective portrayal of China's
history that lasted an hour, the opening ceremony got to the bit I
really love: the parade of athletes marching through the stadium,
country by country - I always have fun trying to spot all the tennis-
players.

The order of the countries was unpredictable to me: presumably
Chinese alphabetical order. Greece came out first (presumably because
it hosted the last Olympics), followed by the countries beginning
with 'T'...

The first tennis-player I spotted was Shahar Pe'er (Israel), and then
(in order of presentation):
* Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark was pretty sexy);
* Victoria Azarenka (Belarus);
* Leander Paes (India);
* Rafael Nadal (Spain) - they showed him at three different times in
the parade!;
* Argentina was very sexy, and I think I caught a brief glimpse of
Gisela Dulko;
* I loved Poland's cool red dresses, but couldn't spot Marta
Domachowska;
* Andy and Jamie Murray (I was annoyed that the BBC kept focusing on
Britain instead of showing Romania properly);
* Tsvetana Pironkova (Bulgaria);
* Liezel Huber (USA);
* Lucie Šafárová and TomᚠBerdych (Czechia) - spotting Lucie was the
highlight of the entire ceremony for me;
* Daniela Hantuchová (Slovakia) - sadly not close up, but I'm nearly
sure that the tallest Slovenka was her;
* Fernando González (Chile's flag-bearer!);
* Roger Federer (Switzerland's flag-bearer);
* Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) - sadly not close up, but I'm pretty sure I
saw her.

The athletes marched with paint on their soles, creating a massive
and increasingly visible rainbow of footprints on a canvas in the
middle of the arena, which was then transferred to the podium - "a
way of including every single athlete in the formal protocol."

-------------------
3. First-round draw
-------------------

The following draw is out of date: at the time of writing, I can't
find a version updated since the withdrawal of Tatiana Golovin (I've
been checking the official websites of the WTA, the ITF and the
Beijing Olympics for hours), so I don't even know whom Lucie Šafárová
plays now.


3.1 Top half (all four of my Eternal Fanship)
------------

* ANA IVANOVIC [1,DF] v Mariya Koryttseva (ajde Ana!)
* Lucie Šafárová [EF] v Tatiana Golovin [DF] (my loyalty is to Lucie)
* Anabel Medina Garrigues v Sybille Bammer
* Jill Craybas v PATTY SCHNYDER [13]

* VERA ZVONARËVA [9,EF] v Yan,Zi [S] (my loyalty is to Vera)
* Shahar Pe'er v Sorana Cîrstea (my loyalty is to Shahar)
* Akgul Amanmuradova v Francesca Schiavone
* Chan,Yung-Jan [WC] v AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA [8] (jia you Yung-Jan!)

* Olga Govortsova v SERENA WILLIAMS [4] (davai Olga!)
* Samantha Stosur v Sara Errani
* Peng,Shuai [S] v Carla Suárez Navarro (jia you Shuai!)
* Nicole Vaidišová [EF] v ALIZÉ CORNET [15] (my loyalty is to Nicole)

* DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [10,EF] v Ai Sugiyama (PODME DANIELA!!)
* Caroline Wozniacki v Selima Sfar [WC] (kom sĺ Caroline!)
* Tamarine Tanasugarn [WC] v Sofia Arvidsson
* ELENA DEMENTIEVA [5] v Kateryna Bondarenko (davai Elena!)


3.2 Bottom half
---------------

* Timea Bacsinszky v VENUS WILLIAMS [7] (hopp Timea!)
* Sania Mirza [DF] v Iveta Benešová (my loyalty is to Sania)
* Gisela Dulko [DF] v Casey Dell'Acqua (Ąvamos Gisela!)
* Tatiana Perebiynis v VICTORIA AZARENKA [12] (my Reason says
Victoria, but my Passion says Tatiana)

* FLAVIA PENNETTA [14,DF] v Kaia Kanepi (forza Flavia!)
* Eleni Daniilidou v Virginie Razzano
* Marina Erakovic v Ayumi Morita [WC,S] (my loyalty is to Marina)
* Li,Na v SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA [3] (jia you Na!)

* Mara Santangelo v DINARA SAFINA [6] (forza Mara!)
* Alicia Molik [WC] v María-José Martínez Sánchez (go Alicia!)
* Klára Zakopalová v Nuria Llagostera Vives [WC] (pojdme Klára!)
* Zheng,Jie v ÁGNES SZÁVAY [11] (jia you Jie!)

* DOMINIKA CIBULKOVÁ [16] v Pauline Parmentier (podme Domi!)
* Tsvetana Pironkova [DF] v Marta Domachowska (my loyalty is to
Tsvetana)
* Alyona Bondarenko v Milagros Sequera (davai Alyona!)
* Cara Black [WC] v JELENA JANKOVIC [2] (go Cara!)

-----------------------------
4. Daniela Hantuchová preview
-----------------------------

It's been Daniela's dream to play in the Olympics ever since she was
a little girl watching Miloslav Mecír winning the Gold Medal for
men's singles at Seoul 1988, but the timing is terrible, as she has
yet to recover the form she had before the stress-fracture in her
right heel that kept her off the Tour from April to Wimbledon.

Daniela's 7-6 6-4 win over Sara Errani in her comeback-match at
Wimbledon was commendable, but she didn't look fully fit in the third
set of her 6-3 4-6 6-1 second-round loss to Alisa Kleybanova - and
that was on grass: the most forgiving surface there is.

Daniela has struggled even more on the hard courts, losing 6-3 6-1 to
Ai Sugiyama at Stanford, and 6-2 6-4 to Olga Govortsova at Los
Angeles, extending her losing-streak to 3 matches.

So it's most unfortunate that she has to play Sugiyama again in the
first round here, even if she'll have the crowd on her side.

Daniela is only 3:6 head-to-head against Sugiyama, even though
Daniela was the higher-ranked player in 6 of those meetings. It's
hard to play your regular doubles-partner (as Sugiyama was a few
years ago), and often the lower-ranked partner has an advantage
because she has inside information, not to mention the emotional
aspect of seeing your partner on the other side of the net.

Daniela's wins over Sugiyama came at Eastbourne 2004 (6-1 7-6),
Zürich 2005 (1-6 7-5 6-4) and Zürich 2006 (7-6 6-2). They didn't play
each other in 2007 (Daniela's best year), but Sugiyama already beat
Daniela at Miami this year (6-4 6-7 7-5) before the aforementioned
Stanford-drubbing.

There's no one I'd like to see win the Gold Medal here more than
Daniela, but the timing is terrible, the draw is very tough, and I
would hate to put a number on Daniela's chances. Even if she gets
past Sugiyama, she could have to play Caroline Wozniacki, Elena
Dementieva and Serena Williams back to back on consecutive days.


4.1 Daniela's diary
-------------------

My last days before the Olympics (2008-08-01)
http://www.dhantuchova.com/diary.html?id=5
>>>
Hi guys!

Last week i have visited the nike base in Portland which was
incredible experience..the whole place is absolutely fantastic it
makes you understand why nike is the biggest and best sport company
in the world..all the people i had oportunity to meet were very
exciting and there is incredible amount of engery and enviroment to
work in,that you can just feel it full of energy and new ideas that
are going to come out any second..i have to say it makes me very
proud to be representing nike as an athlete and to be a part of such
a great company...

After i had a plane to catch which was very very tight as we had fly
back to LA and from there to London..we had only few minutes to make
the connection so at least i got my work out for the day done,
running from one terminal to another.

This week im in Barcelona preparing in the Sanchez Casal for the
upcoming olympics which is going to be such an in incredible
experience..it is so hot here in barcelona and full fo tourists
during this time of the year so it is very busy right now and aslo in
the academy there are lot of kids that come here just for the summer
holidays to improve their tennis which is nice to see that they like
to do my sport also during holidays..talking about olympics i cant
wait to be there as just beeing a part of it and represent my country
is already going to be a big honour...

I hope you guys will all support me as much as you can and hope you
will enjoy watching the whole thing on tv...i hope i will get a
chance to see some sports as well and support my country men and
women in their sports but tennis will come first of course for me as
always..

Have a great day and i will speak to you all soon :-)

D
<<<

------------------
5. Andrew's wishes
------------------

DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [10,EF]:
1r + Ai Sugiyama
2r + Caroline Wozniacki
3r + ELENA DEMENTIEVA [5]
qf + Nicole Vaidišová [EF]
sf + VERA ZVONARËVA [9,EF]
_f + Sania Mirza [DF]

According to a poll at www.dhantuchova.com, 46% of Daniela-fans
believe she's going to win the Gold medal (the dream), while 39%
believe she's not going to win a medal at all (the harsh reality).

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

* Daniela Hantuchová [EF]/Janette Husárová v (YAN,ZI [S]/ZHENG,JIE)[8]

---------------------------
7. Order of play for Sunday
---------------------------

All matches will be played at the Olympic Green Tennis Center (sic),
which looks absolutely magnificent in the photos I've seen!

Sunday's schedule is a mixture of matches from both halves of the
draw. The first round will be completed on Monday, followed by a
round a day for the Women's Singles (with the finals on Saturday).

The weather doesn't look too good for the first round: rain,
temperatures up to 31°C and humidity at 90%. Daniela said earlier
this week: "This is the hottest weather I think I've ever
experienced."

All start-times are given in China-time, which is 8 hours ahead of
GMT and 7 hours ahead of BST (e.g. 10:30 China-time = 02:30 GMT =
03:30 BST).

Show Court 2
(10:30) MS 1r: Nikolay Davydenko v Ernests Gulbis
(12:30) WS 1r: DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [10,EF] v Ai Sugiyama
(17:00) WS 1r: Chan,Yung-Jan [WC] v AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA [8]
(19:00) WD 1r: Nicole Vaidišová [EF]/Iveta Benešová
v (SERENA WILLIAMS/VENUS WILLIAMS)[2]
(21:00) MD 1r <snip>

The full order of play is at:
http://www.itftennis.com/olympics/event/scheduleday1.asp

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

=================
THE CHAMPIONSHIPS (Wimbledon, England; grass; Grand Slam)
================= http://www.wimbledon.org/
Contents
--------

1. Photos
2. Second-round TV-report: Hantuchová v Kleybanova

---------
1. Photos
---------

Daniela Hantuchová:
http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news/?c=news_photos&p=hantuchova
http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/players/wta080394.html

Wimbledon Fashions (several players including Daniela):
http://preview.tinyurl.com/6kpyom (wtatour.com)

Search Getty Images for "hantuchova"

Many players (Daniela in Tuesday 24th and Thursday 26th June):
http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/gallery?pg=1&cap=1

--------------------------------------------------
2. Second-round TV-report: Hantuchová v Kleybanova
(Thursday 26th June)
--------------------------------------------------

- DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [10,EF] lt. Alisa Kleybanova, 3-6 6-4 1-6

I saw the third set on TV, as that's when Freeview BBCi started
showing it.

I followed live scores for the first two sets. Daniela was 3-6 *0-3
and *1-4 down, but staged a terrific fightback to win the last five
games of the second set.

In the third set, Daniela squandered three break-points at 1-1*, then
lost her own serve after a game of five deuces and six break-points
to give Kleybanova a *3-1 lead, then won only three points in the
last three games, as Kleybanova kept finding the lines and Daniela
kept missing.

Daniela showed no signs of her foot-injury; she seemed to be moving
as well as she usually does, and ran down a dropshot nicely at *0-1
(40/40) in the third. But she looked increasingly weak and error-
strewn as the third set slipped away from her - I guess that's to be
expected in her first tournament back after a long lay-off.
It's great to see her back.

I'll post my full TV-report at a later date.

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

=================
THE CHAMPIONSHIPS (Wimbledon, England; grass; Grand Slam)
================= http://www.wimbledon.org/
Contents
--------

1. First-round scoreboard-report: Hantuchová v Errani
2. Second-round draw

-----------------------------------------------------
1. First-round scoreboard-report: Hantuchová v Errani
(Tuesday 24th June)
-----------------------------------------------------

+ DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [10,EF] d. Sara Errani, 7-6 (7/5) 6-4

Daniela made an understandably rusty start to her first match since
Amelia Island in April, going 0-3* down, then recovering from *1-3
(0/40) only to go *2-4 down.

But she made a terrific recovery to turn the first set around,
surviving Errani serving for the first set at 5-4, and winning the
tiebreak despite letting *3/1 become 3/3*.

Daniela raced to a 5-1* lead in the second set, but let Errani hold,
break and hold again before she closed it out.

I'm very pleased with this win, as I didn't know whether to expect a
humiliating defeat or even a retirement, not knowing the current
state of Daniela's right foot.


First set
---------
HANTUC ___@* *@ @* T 7(7)
ERRANI @*@__*__@__*_ 6(5)

The match was fourth on Court 6, and started at 18:14 BST.

Daniela serving 0-0: 0/15. 15/15. 15/40 to 40/40. Ad Errani (BP #3).
Broken.

Such a rusty start is only to be expected after Daniela's injury lay-
off.

Errani serving 1-0: 30/0. 30/15. 40/30. 40/40. Ad Errani. Held.
Daniela serving 0-2: 15/0. 15/40. 30/40. Broken.

This could get very embarrassing. I'm already having visions of the
dreaded double bagel! :-o

Errani serving 3-0: 15/15. 15/30... broken.

Well, at least Daniela has avoided that particular humiliation.

Daniela serving 1-3: 0/40 to 40/40. Ad Daniela. Held.

Excellent recovery from 0/40! Now I'm starting to entertain the
possibility that Daniela might actually win this.

Errani serving 3-2: 15/0. 15/15. 40/15. Held.
Daniela serving 2-4: 40/0. Held.
Errani serving 4-3: 0/15. 30/15. 30/30. 40/30. 40/40. Ad Daniela
(BP). Broken.

Daniela serving 4-4: 0/15. I saw this point in a BBCi court-circular:
Daniela served out wide, but netted a down-the-line backhand on the
third stroke. 0/30. 0/40. Broken.

Errani serving 5-4: 0/40. Broken.

Daniela serving 5-5: 40/0 to 40/40. Ad Daniela. Held.
Errani serving 5-6: 15/0. 30/15... held.

6-6 tiebreak (all scores Hantuchová/Errani): *0/0. 1/0*. 2/0*. *2/1.
*3/1. 3/2*. 3/3*. *4/3. *5/3. 5/4*. 6/4* (SP #1). *6/5 (SP #2).
Daniela won the first set 7-6 (7/5) at 19:10 (56 minutes).


Second set
----------
HANTUC _*@*@*___* 6
ERRANI *_____*@*_ 4

Errani serving 0-0: 15/0. 15/15. 40/15. Held.
Daniela serving 0-1: 40/0. 40/30. Held.
Errani serving 1-1: 0/40. 15/40. Broken.
Daniela serving 2-1: 40/0. Held.
Errani serving 1-3: 0/15. 15/15. 15/40. Broken.
Daniela serving 4-1: 15/0. 15/30. 30/40. 40/40. Ad Daniela. Held.

Errani serving 1-5: 15/0. 15/30. 40/30. 40/40. Ad Errani. Held.
Daniela serving 5-2: 15/0. 15/30. 30/30... broken.

Errani serving 3-5: 15/0. 15/15... held.
Daniela serving 5-4: 15/0. 15/15. 40/15 (MP #1). 40/30 (MP #2).
Daniela won 7-6 (7/5) 6-4 at 19:49 (second set 39 minutes, match
1h35m).

--------------------
2. Second-round draw
--------------------
2.1 Top half: Nicole Vaidišová and Anna Chakvetadze
---------------------------------------------------

* ANA IVANOVIC [1,DF] won
* Zheng,Jie [WC] won
* Anabel Medina Garrigues won
* ÁGNES SZÁVAY [15] won

* Casey Dell'Acqua won
* NICOLE VAIDIŠOVÁ [18,EF] won
* Evgeniya Rodina won
* ANNA CHAKVETADZE [8,EF] won

* SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA [4] won
* Barbora Záhlavová Strýcová [Q] won
* Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova won
* AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA [14] won

* MARION BARTOLI [11,DF,S] won
* Bethanie Mattek won
* AMÉLIE MAURESMO [29] won
* SERENA WILLIAMS [6] won


2.2 Bottom half: Sharapova, Hantuchová, Zvonarëva
-------------------------------------------------

* ELENA DEMENTIEVA [5] v Timea Bacsinszky
* Gisela Dulko [DF] v LINDSAY DAVENPORT [25] (Ąvamos Gisela!)
* SHAHAR PE'ER [24] v Emilie Loit (kadima Shahar!)
* Hsieh,Su-Wei [S] v DINARA SAFINA [9] (jia you Su-Wei!)

* VICTORIA AZARENKA [16] v Sorana Cîrstea (my Reason says Victoria,
but my Passion says Sorana)
* Mara Santangelo v NADIA PETROVA [21] (forza Mara!)
* Peng,Shuai [S] v SYBILLE BAMMER [26] (jia you Shuai!)
* MARIA SHARAPOVA [3,EF] v Alla Kudryavtseva (DAVAI MARIA!!)

* VENUS WILLIAMS [7] v Anne Keothavong
* SANIA MIRZA [32,DF] v María José Martínez Sánchez [Q] (go Sania!)
* FLAVIA PENNETTA [22,DF] v Ai Sugiyama (forza Flavia!)
* DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [10,EF] v Alisa Kleybanova (PODME DANIELA!!)

* VERA ZVONARËVA [13,EF] v Tamarine Tanasugarn (DAVAI VERA!!)
* Marina Erakovic v Julia Görges (my Reason says Marina, but my
Passion says Julia)
* CAROLINE WOZNIACKI [31] v Aleksandra Wozniak (kom sĺ Caroline!)
* JELENA JANKOVIC [2] v Carla Suárez Navarro [WC] (ajde Jelena!)

-----------------------------
3. Order of play for Thursday
-----------------------------

Court 3 (start 12:00 BST = 11:00 GMT)
MS 2r: NICOLAS KIEFER [27] v Martin Vassallo Arguello
WS 2r: Gisela Dulko [DF] v LINDSAY DAVENPORT [25]
MS 2r: Rainer Schüttler v JAMES BLAKE [9]
WS 2r: DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [10,EF] v Alisa Kleybanova

Full order of play:
http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/scores/schedule/

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

=================
THE CHAMPIONSHIPS (Wimbledon, England; grass; Grand Slam)
================= http://www.wimbledon.org/
Contents
--------

1. Daniela's French Open withdrawal
2. Interview of 4th June
3. First-round draw
4. Daniela Hantuchová preview
5. Order of play for Tuesday

-----------------------------------
1. Daniela's French Open withdrawal
-----------------------------------

Daniela pulled out of the French Open with a stress-fracture in her
right heel. I'm really worried about this, because it was a stress-
fracture that ended Monica Seles's career. Here are the latest two
entries (at the time) on Daniela's website:

Daniela: "I hope to play at Roland-Garros"
http://www.dhantuchova.com/news.php?id=580
Wednesday 21st May
>>>
"Coming off of Miami and then a match in Amelia Island, all my
doctors were shocked that I was able to play through at both events.
As you all know, with much disappointment I had to pull from Fed Cup
and three Tour events. It has been a very frustrating time to tell
you the truth. So here we are... the foot is continuing to be
problematic. It was a very bad injury. I had an MRI early last week
which confirmed the foot needed more time to heal. Right now I am
trying to stay hopeful for Paris. I miss the game so much and Roland
Garros is wonderful. And what's not to love about Paris!

"If I am able to play, I realise that I will not be prepared as I
would like typically moving into a Grand Slam. All I can do is play
my best, considering the circumstances, and expect to have a positive
experience regardless of the outcome."
<<<

Daniela withdraws from the French Open
http://www.dhantuchova.com/news.php?id=581
Thursday 22nd May
>>>
"A near-heartbreaking day for me... After final consult with my team,
I am sad to announce that I will be missing my first Roland Garros as
a professional athlete. Every player's dream is to compete in the
Grand Slams, and I so much wanted to make Paris happen.

"But I know I have to be patient, as recovery from this type of
injury takes time. Hopefully I will be strong and healthy to practise
and play in full speed soon. I wish everyone all the best, lots of
good tennis, and much love to all the fans!"
<<<

It was the first Grand Slam that Daniela missed for eight years,
having played 31 in a row from Wimbledon 2000 qualifying to her first
Grand Slam semi-final at the Australian Open 2008.

At least it was a quantum of solace that Magdaléna Rybáriková
qualified for the main draw! :-)

------------------------
2. Interview of 4th June
------------------------

This is an exclusive interview for Daniela's official website, before
she pulled out of 's-Hertogenbosch.

Daniela: "I can't wait to be back!"
http://www.dhantuchova.com/news.php?id=582
>>>
Q: Daniela, how do you feel physically and mentally after one month
without playing tournaments?

DANIELA: On the fitness-front, I have been doing a lot of pool and
low-impact work, but it's hard not be able to run. Treadmill-training
is best for endurance and speed, and it's like a mental outlet for
me. Of course I'm trying to stay positive, but I greatly miss the
game. I haven't really picked up a racquet since early April, so it's
been frustrating to say the least. At this point, yoga is a big
factor in keeping me sane! :-)

Q. What did you do during Roland-Garros tournament?

DANIELA: One very nice thing was that I was able to celebrate my big
brother's 30th birthday at home with him, our family and closest
friends. Other than being in and out of medical facilities for tests,
check-ups, treatments, etc., I am reading and spending lots of time
at home while I have a break now. I also spent some time in Barcelona
with my coach.

Q: When and where will you do your comeback?

DANIELA: I have my hopes set on playing Rosmalen: always a nice warm-
up for Wimbledon. Helps to get a few matches in before a Grand Slam.
I can't wait to be back doing what I love most: tennis!
<<<

-------------------
3. First-round draw
-------------------
3.1 Top quarter: Nicole Vaidišová and Anna Chakvetadze
------------------------------------------------------

* ANA IVANOVIC [1,DF] won
* Nathalie Dechy won
* Elena Baltacha [WC] won
* Zheng,Jie [WC] won

* Tamira Paszek v FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE [20], 3-6 *4-4
* Anabel Medina Garrigues won
* Magdaléna Rybáriková [Q,DF] v Monica Niculescu [S], 6-1 3-6 *4-2
* ÁGNES SZÁVAY [15] won

* Casey Dell'Acqua won
* Pauline Parmentier won
* Samantha Stosur [WC] won
* NICOLE VAIDIŠOVÁ [18,EF] won

* Evgeniya Rodina won
* Elena Vesnina won
* Edina Gallovits won
* ANNA CHAKVETADZE [8,EF] won


3.2 Second quarter
------------------

* SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA [4] won
* Kateryna Bondarenko won
* Barbora Záhlavová Strýcová [Q] won
* ALYONA BONDARENKO [28] won

* Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova won
* Li,Na won
* Marta Domachowska won
* AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA [14] won

* MARION BARTOLI [11,DF,S] won
* Tatiana Perebiynis won
* Bethanie Mattek won
* Vera Dushevina won

* AMÉLIE MAURESMO [29] won
* Virginia Ruano Pascual won
* Urszula Radwanska [WC] won
* SERENA WILLIAMS [6] won


3.3 Third quarter: Maria Sharapova and Lucie Šafárová
-----------------------------------------------------

* Maria Elena Camerin v ELENA DEMENTIEVA [5] (forza Maria Elena!)
* Timea Bacsinszky v Julie Ditty (hopp Timea!)
* Gisela Dulko [DF] v Aravane Rezaď (my loyalty is to Gisela)
* Renata Vorácová v LINDSAY DAVENPORT [25]

* SHAHAR PE'ER [24] v Katie O'Brien [WC] (my loyalty is to Shahar)
* Lucie Šafárová [EF] v Emilie Loit (POJDME LUCIE!!)
* Hsieh,Su-Wei [S] v Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro (jia you Su-Wei!)
* Chan,Yung-Jan v DINARA SAFINA [9]

* Tsvetana Pironkova [DF] v VICTORIA AZARENKA [16] (aide Tsvetana!)
* Ekaterina Bychkova v Sorana Cîrstea (davai Ekaterina!)
* Maret Ani v Mara Santangelo (go Maret!)
* Olga Govortsova v NADIA PETROVA [21] (davai Olga!)

* SYBILLE BAMMER [26] v Sofia Arvidsson
* Peng,Shuai [S] v Viktoriya Kutuzova [Q] (my Reason says Shuai, but
my Passion says Viktoriya)
* Ekaterina Makarova v Alla Kudryavtseva
* MARIA SHARAPOVA [3,EF] v Stéphanie Foretz [Q] (DAVAI MARIA!!)


3.4 Bottom quarter: Daniela Hantuchová and Vera Zvonarëva
---------------------------------------------------------

* VENUS WILLIAMS [7] v Naomi Cavaday [WC]
* Anne Keothavong v Vania King
* Martina Müller v María José Martínez Sánchez [Q]
* SANIA MIRZA [32,DF] v Catalina Castańo (go Sania!)

* FLAVIA PENNETTA [22,DF] v Julia Vakulenko (my loyalty is to Flavia)
* Yanina Wickmayer v Ai Sugiyama (komaan Yanina!)
* Alisa Kleybanova v Tzipora Obziler
* DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [10,EF] v Sara Errani (PODME DANIELA!!)

* VERA ZVONARËVA [13,EF] v Aiko Nakamura [S] (DAVAI VERA!!)
* Petra Cetkovská v Tamarine Tanasugarn (pojdme Petra!)
* Michaëlla Krajícek [DF] v Marina Erakovic (my loyalty is to
Michaëlla)
* Julia Görges v KATARINA SREBOTNIK [23] (my Reason says Kata, but my
Passion says Julia)

* CAROLINE WOZNIACKI [31] v Eva Hrdinová [Q] (my Reason says
Caroline, but my Passion says Eva)
* Aleksandra Wozniak v Mariya Koryttseva
* Galina Voskoboeva v Carla Suárez Navarro [WC]
* Olga Savchuk v JELENA JANKOVIC [2] (davai Olga!)

-----------------------------
4. Daniela Hantuchová preview
-----------------------------

This year started so greatly for Daniela with her first Grand Slam
semi-final at the Australian Open, but she has been sidelined with a
stress-fracture in her right foot since her opening-round loss at
Amelia Island. I doubt she would be playing this next week if it
wasn't Wimbledon - and she could still pull out before her first-
round match on Tuesday.

So I'm previewing Daniela's Wimbledon-campaign with very low
expectations - although Nick Bollettieri thinks she could reach the
second week if healthy.

Nick Bollettieri: "Hantuchová hasn't played since Amelia Island due
to injuries, which is never a good thing heading into a Grand Slam.
Back in 2002, she reached the quarter-finals here, and the last two
years, she has been to the fourth round. If she is feeling healthy, I
give her a good shot at reaching the second week; if not, she will
have a rough time."
<http://nickstennispicks.com/>


4.1 First round
---------------

Daniela has never played Sara Errani before. If it wasn't for
Daniela's injury, I'd be very optimistic: Errani has never played in
the main draw of Wimbledon before, having lost in the first round of
qualifying in her only attempt: 2006.

Errani is 16:16 in 2008 so far. She pushed Lindsay Davenport to
6-2 3-6 7-5 in the first round of the Australian Open, beat Maria
Kirilenko at Miami, and thrashed Ágnes Szávay 6-0 6-3 at Rome.

Following a first-round loss at the French Open, Errani has prepared
for Wimbledon by playing the claycourt WTA-tournament at Barcelona,
losing to Nuria Llagostera Vives in the quarter-finals. She then
switched to grass at 's-Hertogenbosch, beating Anne Keothavong
7-6 6-2, and losing 6-3 7-5 to Elena Dementieva.

So it all depends on how Daniela's right foot will be on Tuesday -
although frankly, against Errani on grass, Daniela would stand a
fighting chance by hopping around the court on her left leg!


4.2 Second round
----------------

I'm going to assume Alisa Kleybanova will come through here, because
she was much more impressive at Eastbourne than Tzipora Obziler.

Kleybanova is a big girl with huge power on her groundstrokes, and
sometimes she grunts just like Maria Sharapova, whilst remaining
quiet the majority of the time. But she lacks soft hands and ball-
control, making plenty of errors, and even winners that seem to fly
off her racket by luck!

Kleybanova has an impressive 32:13 record for 2008 so far, reaching
the quarter-finals of Antwerp as a qualifier, and beating an out-of-
sorts Nicole Vaidišová 6-4 6-0 at Miami.

Kleybanova beat Olga Govortsova 6-0 6-0 at Berlin, and won five
matches to reach the quarter-finals of Eastbourne, where she found
Marion Bartoli too hot to handle (6-3 6-3), although she did look
impressive towards the end of the first set and at the beginning of
the second (I saw the match on BBCi).

After what I saw at Eastbourne, I'd be pretty worried about Daniela
playing Kleybanova if Daniela were healthy, let alone playing her
first tournament back after a lengthy lay-off from an injury that may
not yet have healed. Daniela would have to find something resembling
her best form pretty quickly to come through this one.

----------------------------
5. Order of play for Tuesday
----------------------------

Court 6 (start 12:00 BST = 11:00 GMT)
MS 1r: Wayne Odesnik v JARKKO NIEMINEN [24]
WS 1r: Michaëlla Krajícek [DF] v Marina Erakovic
MS 1r: NICOLAS ALMAGRO [19] v Marcel Granollers-Pujol
WS 1r: DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [10,EF] v Sara Errani

Full order of play:
http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/scores/schedule/

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

=================
THE CHAMPIONSHIPS (Wimbledon, England; grass; Grand Slam)
================= http://championships.wimbledon.org/

Daniela Hantuchová: "It's so hard to play against somebody that you
know is struggling, and you kind of feel sorry. At the same time, you
have to be tough and still play your game. Mentally, it was very,
very tough."

------------
Fourth round (Monday 2nd July)
------------

- DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [10,EF] lt. SERENA WILLIAMS [7],
2-6 7-6 (7/2) 2-6

This was the dramatic match in which Daniela led 5-2* in the second
set, then Williams, having fought back to 5-5, collapsed with a spasm-
induced calf-strain, screaming in agony!

But Williams was saved by a two-hour rain-delay, and although that
didn't stop Daniela winning the second-set tiebreak, she choked as
Williams's movement improved in the third set. Williams asked to take
a toilet-break before each of Daniela's last two service-games, the
umpire refused permission, but Williams declined the umpire's offer
to go before her own last service-game!

My full TV-report includes a point-by-point description, and
transcripts of both players' BBC-interviews:
http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/hantu/wimbledon2007.html

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

=================
THE CHAMPIONSHIPS (Wimbledon, England; grass; Grand Slam)
================= http://championships.wimbledon.org/

Daniela Hantuchová: "I do enjoy it when it gets tight. I think the
more I'm on the court, the better for me because I think physically
I'm fit, and yeah, I don't care if it's 40 minutes or three hours.
Definitely the nerves don't play a role anymore."

--------------------------------
Daniela Hantuchová's third round (Friday 29th June 2007)
--------------------------------

+ DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [10,EF] d. KATARINA SREBOTNIK [19], 2-6 6-3 6-4

Katarina played an excellent first set, but the match turned when
Daniela came through a service-game of 7 deuces at *1-1 in the
second, and she extended her head-to-head over Katarina to 6:0
(7:0 after Paris 2008). Daniela hit 52 winners!

My full TV-report includes a point-by-point description:
http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/hantu/wimbledon2007.html

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