===========
ZÜRICH OPEN (Zürich, Switzerland; indoor hard; WTA Tier I)
=========== http://www.zurichopen.net/

This tournament was the highlight of a somewhat lacklustre year for
Daniela, as she reached her first WTA singles-final since Los
Angeles in August 2005. In both tournaments she benefited from a
walkover in the quarter-finals, but both times she proved herself
worthy by beating in the semi-finals a Russian ranked inside the
world's top 6.

Daniela's run to the final boosted her ranking from #22 to #16
(not at Anna Chakvetadze's expense - she rose to #13).

Although I don't have access to Eurosport, a DVD of the semi-finals
and final has come into my possession, so I have incorporated it
into my reports - this one covers the matches before the final.

------
Photos
------

On-court photos:
http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news/?c=news_photos&p=hantuchova
http://www.wtaworld.com/showthread.php?t=210331&page=97 (and 98)
Search Getty Images for "hantuchova"

Off-court photos:
http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/2/photogallery/?Event=zurich
http://makeashorterlink.com/?X23E1221E

------
Videos
------

Match-videos:
http://www.wtaworld.com/showthread.php?t=145909&page=43 (and 44)

Daniela commentating with Chris Bradnam for British Eurosport:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=YQI1VKWO

I would love to hear her commentating for the BBC when her playing-
days are over! <3

-----------
First round (Tuesday 17th October)
-----------

+ Daniela Hantuchová d. PATTY SCHNYDER [6], 6-2 7-5

Two years ago, I thought Schnyder was Daniela's nemesis, as Daniela
lost to her for the fourth time in a row at the US Open 2004.

But Daniela has won four of their five meetings since then, despite
Schnyder being ranked in the top 11 every time! :-)

To beat Schnyder in front of a Swiss crowd, at a tournament where
Schnyder was runner-up last year, is especially sweet. The match
lasted 1h19m.

BBC Sport: "Sixth seed and last year's finalist Schnyder looked
lethargic against Slovak Daniela Hantuchová, dropping serve four
times in a 6-2 7-5 loss."

Reuters:
>>>
Swiss Schnyder, the sixth seed who reached the final last year
before losing to Lindsay Davenport, has often struggled against
Hantuchová, losing six of their previous 14 matches.

She looked lethargic on Tuesday, dropping her serve in the third
game when she sent a forehand long. Another forehand error cost her
another break at 4-2.

Hantuchová maintained the pressure in the second set, holding three
break-points in the opening game and two more at 1-1 before Schnyder
sent an easy forehand volley long to give the Slovak a break for 4-3.

Hantuchová struggled to close out the match, though, facing a break-
point for the first time at 5-4 and then double-faulting. Even
though she broke again for 6-5, she needed to fight off a break-
point as she served for the match a second time.
<<<

Schnyder quotes
---------------

"It's tough to get your rhythm against her, with her flat balls and
strong serve. I never got a feel for the court because I only got to
practise on it 30 minutes on Sunday morning.

"I didn't get the chance to really play. She played a solid match,
and after coming from Moscow I only had the chance to play for 30
minutes on centre court, which wasn't enough. I wish I'd had a
better first round and then been able to play my way into the
tournament. Now it's over.

"I arrived late from Moscow, and only had half an hour practice on
centre court. That's definitely not enough. My timing was way off
today. I was hoping, if I could win this one, I could play myself
into the tournament, but now I'm out. To her credit, she played very
well. She is one of my most difficult opponents."

Deutsch: "Hantuchová spielte ein solides Match."
English: "Hantuchová played a solid match."

D: "Sie serviert sehr gut und schlägt die Bälle flach und platziert."
E: "She serves very well, hits the ball flat and places it well."

D: "Zu meinem Spiel kann ich sagen: Ich kam erst am Samstag aus
Moskau an, und die Bedingungen hier sind doch etwas anders."
E: "As far as my game is concerned, I only arrived here on Saturday
from Moscow, and the conditions here are a little different."

D: "Leider hatte ich kaum Gelegenheit, auf dem Centre Court zu
trainieren und mich an die neuen Bedingungen zu gewöhnen."
E: "Unfortunately I didn't have much of a chance to practise on the
centre court and to get used to the conditions here."

D: "Rainer [Hoffmann, Ehemann und Coach] kam nach dem ersten Satz
auf den Platz und hat mich darauf hingewiesen, daß mein Timing nicht
stimmte, mein Grundlinienspiel war im zweiten Satz dann auch besser."
E: "Rainer [Hoffmann, her husband and coach] came onto the court
after the first set and told me that my timing wasn't right, and my
groundstrokes improved after that."

D: "Es ist schade, daß ich hier verloren habe, an einem Turnier, an
dem ich in den letzten Jahren so gut gespielt habe und tolle
Erinnerungen habe, aber ich lasse nun deswegen den Kopf nicht
hängen, weil ich das Ziel Masters-Qualifikation vor Augen habe."
E: "It's a shame that I lost at a tournament which I've done well at
in recent years and have such good memories from, but I'm not going
to hang my head in shame because I can still qualify for the
Championships."

D: "Darum bin ich jetzt froh um die paar Tage Pause, insbesondere
weil Zürich mein viertes Turnier hintereinander war und ich vor
allem in Moskau sehr harte Matches hatte."
E: "If anything I can be happy to have a few days rest, especially
as Zürich was my fourth tournament running and I had some very hard
matches in Moscow."

------------
Second round (Wednesday 18th October)
------------

+ Daniela Hantuchová d. Sugiyama,Ai, 7-6 (9/7) 6-2

Daniela went into this match having beaten Sugiyama only twice in
six meetings: Eastbourne 2004 and here last year, so it was sweet to
repeat that.

Daniela broke for 3-0* in the first set, but was broken back for
*3-3. The rest of the set went with serve (Daniela serving first),
and Daniela edged it on the tiebreak.

From *1-2 in the second set, Daniela won the last five games of the
match, although she missed one match-point and had to save a break-
point when serving for the match at 5-2.

-------------
Quarter-final (Thursday 19th October)
-------------

+ Daniela Hantuchová d. AMÉLIE MAURESMO [1],
walkover (right-shoulder injury)

I was very pleased to see Daniela through to the semis, although I
would have preferred her to do it by winning a match. I do think she
benefited from having a day off, however.

Daniela hadn't reached a semi-final anywhere since Auckland in
January, and not at a Tier I (or higher) since Montréal 2002!


Mauresmo quotes
---------------

"Obviously it's very frustrating for me. I'm trying to finish the
season number one, and I think maybe I didn't give myself enough
time to heal after Stuttgart. The matches in Moscow and here haven't
helped, and I reaggravated it in the second set of my match against
Stosur.

"It's very frustrating. Two weeks ago I could already feel something
and I could feel it on the serve, and yesterday I was not serving
very hard, and I could feel something again in the second set.

"I've pushed myself to play last week and to be able to come here
this week. Maybe it was not the right thing to do. There is
inflammation in two areas of the shoulder, but not big damage that
could really put me out for a long time. I hope I will be able to
play in Madrid."

----------
Semi-final (Saturday 21st October)
----------

+ Daniela Hantuchová d. SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA [3], 6-4 6-2

Daniela got "WTA Tour Win of the Week" for this! :-)

www.zurichopen.net preview: "Hantuchová has never rediscovered the
level of play that took her to No.5 in the world, but is playing
better now than for a long time, and Kuznetsova will have to play
near her best to beat the tall Slovak."

Daniela broke for *2-1 in the first set, but Kuznetsova broke back
for 4-4 before Daniela broke for *5-4 and served out the set 6-4.

The second set was simple (for once!), as Daniela again broke for
*2-1. But instead of letting Kuznetsova recover from 4-2 to 4-4, she
broke for *5-2 and served out the match at the first attempt! :-)


Articles
--------

www.wtatour.com:
>>>
As the playing conditions quicken, certain players become even more
threatening. That has certainly been the case for Maria Sharapova
and Daniela Hantuchová, and on Saturday afternoon, both big-hitters
powered through to the final of the indoor Zürich Open with
impressive straight-set victories.

Hantuchová, unseeded, pulled off an equal-career-best win in
Saturday's second semi-final, upsetting No.3 seed Svetlana
Kuznetsova in two routine sets, 64 62. The Slovak had lost her last
four meetings with Kuznetsova but was on her game this time,
pounding big serves and pinpoint strokes to dismiss the No.4-ranked
Russian; she has never beaten a Top 3 player but now has three wins
over No.4s, also Martina Hingis (2002 Indian Wells) and Amélie
Mauresmo (2004 Eastbourne).

Hantuchová has also made it through to Sunday's final without losing
a set; in fact, her win over Kuznetsova was her quickest of the
week. She began her week with a 62 75 win over Patty Schnyder, then
toughed out a 76(7) 62 victory over Ai Sugiyama in the second round,
and was granted a walkover into the semifinal round when Mauresmo
withdrew from the event with a right shoulder injury.

Hantuchová can reflect back as well, but not in the same sense; the
2006 Zürich Open marks just the second time the Slovak has beaten
two Top 10 players at the same event since her lone career Tour
singles title run at Indian Wells, also a Tier I event, in 2002. Her
wins over Schnyder and Kuznetsova are reminiscent of her wins over
Justine Henin-Hardenne and Hingis four years ago, where she came out
of nowhere to assert herself as one of the brightest prospects in
the game.

The Slovak, a former Top 5 player, has also had success at Zürich in
the past, reaching the quarter-finals twice, in 2001 (as a
qualifier) and 2002. She is 1-3 lifetime in Tour singles finals, her
most recent championship round appearance coming at Los Angeles last
summer, where she was a runner-up to Kim Clijsters.
<<<

Reuters:
>>>
Kuznetsova was a pale reflection of the woman who played brilliantly
to dispose of Martina Hingis in Friday's quarter-finals, finding
difficulty with her serve and failing to maintain the rallies
against a confident and consistent opponent.

Hantuchová broke to lead 2-1 when Kuznetsova dumped a smash into the
net, and although Kuznetsova levelled at 4-4 she then hit two
successive double-faults to concede her serve again and leave
Hantuchová serving for the set.

Hantuchová again broke for 2-1 in the second set when Kuznetsova
netted a forehand, and the Russian called for medical attention to
her right foot after Hantuchová held serve for 4-2.

When play resumed after several minutes, Hantuchová broke for 5-2
and went on to close out the match on her third match-point.
<<<

Erica Bulman, AP Sports Writer:
>>>
Hantuchová took the first set against Kuznetsova and broke to lead 2-
1 in the second. At 4-2, Kuznetsova took an injury break to treat a
blister under her right big toe, and Hantuchová called her mother to
her side for coaching. When play resumed, Hantuchová broke again for
a 5-2 lead.

The Slovak had two match-points in the next game and thought she had
won with an ace, but the umpire overruled. She then sent the ball
long and squandered her second match-point by netting an easy
forehand. Hantuchová converted her third match-point with a
crosscourt backhand.
<<<

www.zurichopen.net:
>>>
Hantuchová's win over Kuznetsova was assisted by the Russian
suffering from an injury on the big toe of her right foot, which
needed treatment in the second set, but the 23-year-old Slovak had
by then done enough to deserve her first final in 14 months. She
kept Kuznetsova penned behind her baseline, and stroked her powerful
groundstrokes with great accuracy.

Her nerves were tested at the end when, after reaching two match-
points, she had an ace overruled by the umpire (correctly, as
television replays confirmed) and then made errors on the two match-
points. But she hit an unreturnable crosscourt backhand on her third
match-point to reach only the second Tier-1 final of her career.
<<<


My match-report
---------------

There are 25 minutes of highlights of Daniela's semi-final on the
DVD I've got:


First set
---------

Daniela serving 4-3: Daniela cracked a brilliant crosscourt forehand
winner onto the sideline, and Kuznetsova did the splits. 15/0.
Daniela came to the net, forcing Kuznetsova on the run to hit a
forehand wide. 30/0. Double fault. 30/15. Kuznetsova forehand
netcord return-winner. 30/30. A good first serve forced a short
return, but Daniela sprayed a forehand wide. 30/40 (break-point). A
good deep, wide second serve forced Kuznetsova to net a backhand
return. 40/40. Kuznetsova backhand long. Ad Daniela. She hit a
forehand just wide. Deuce #2. A long, entertaining baseline-rally
ended with Daniela netting a forehand on the stretch. Ad Kuznetsova
(BP #2). Daniela sprayed a forehand long & wide to give Kuznetsova
the break back.

It was Daniela dictating the play. Kuznetsova was doing nothing
special. Daniela looked like she had all the time in the world to
unleash her flairsome groundstrokes - whether for winners or
unforced errors.

Sam Smith: "Hantuchová's had a very positive approach to this match.
Think she feels she has to go for it. She's going to miss
occasionally, but as we've always said, the /margins/ for Hantuchová
is like a /tightrope/ she walks between getting it right and
actually missing - it's very small."

Kuznetsova serving 4-4: She netted a sliced backhand. 0/15. Daniela
hit an off-forehand winner just inside the sideline, off a short
sliced backhand from Kuznetsova. Chris Bradnam praised Daniela's
footwork, Sam Smith her improvisation. 0/30. Daniela netted a
forehand return. 15/30. Daniela netted a backhand dropshot. 30/30.
Kuznetsova gave Daniela the break with two double faults!

Daniela serving for the first set at 5-4: Service-winner out wide,
right in the corner. 15/0. Daniela went for a big second serve, and
double-faulted. 15/15. A wide serve and off-forehand forced
Kuznetsova to hit a backhand lob wide. 30/15. Kuznetsova backhand
long - she looked very weary. 40/15 (two set-points). Kuznetsova
netted a weary forehand - Daniela won the first set 6-4.

Chris Bradnam said Daniela often took four or five games to get back
on track mentally after a setback, but had got back on track
immediately after losing her serve at *4-3.


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

Daniela serving for the match at 5-2: Kuznetsova backhand long.
15/0. Daniela attempted a backhand dropshot from the baseline, but
it bounced before the net! 15/15. Daniela hit a wonderful deep,
flairsome, error-forcing forehand down the line. 30/15. A good wide
serve forced a short return, and Daniela belted a crosscourt
forehand winner just inside the sideline. 40/15 (TWO MATCH-POINTS).
A big first serve down the middle was called a fault by the umpire
(it /was/ clearly wide). Daniela argued about it, and hit a forehand
just long. 40/30 (MP #2). Daniela netted a forehand. 40/40. Service-
winner out wide. Ad Daniela (MP #3). A long baseline-rally ended
with Daniela hitting a crosscourt backhand that forced Kuznetsova on
the run (well, more of a waddle) to net a backhand. Daniela jumped
for joy, shooting her arms up as the umpire declared her a 6-4 6-2
winner.


Daniela quotes
--------------

"It's been awhile [since I reached a final]. I guess it was time.

"Against Sveta today, I knew I had to be aggressive and move her
around, and I couldn't be happier with how I played. It's a great
feeling to go out there, play your best and be satisfied with the
results.

"I did all the right things on court. Even if missed a shot, I just
didn't let it bother me. I just followed my plan from beginning to
end."

[Re. pressure]
"I guess it just comes with experience, and becoming a little older.
It shows you that it's not going to help you in anything, and that
the most important thing is to have fun with whatever you do – it
doesn't have to be tennis, it goes for any job – and then I think
the results come much quicker."

[Re. her rib-injury]
"It's funny, because I wasn't sure how fit I'd be after my opening
round doubles when I got hit by a forehand; my rib was sore for a
few days and my serve was definitely affected.

"It was hard to find my rhythm. I had a lot of days off, but I was
working hard in doubles and playing late. And Mary [Pierce] hit a
huge forehand straight into my ribs in the first doubles match.

"I was hit really hard in the doubles and it was really hurting me,
and I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to play. It happened in
our first doubles match. Mary Pierce just went for one of her big
shots with the forehand, and it went straight in the rib. It was
hard to get my breath.

"In the first two days it was not really fun because I couldn't
really get up on my serve and stretch. When things like that happen,
you just have to be strong mentally and not let it affect you.

"But it's been getting better each day; I'm really looking forward
to tomorrow.

"I'm very happy to be back in the finals. I've been working really
hard and focusing on my singles, and the work is paying off. I've
always enjoyed playing here in Zürich. I feel the surface suits my
game and I like the city."


Daniela quotes in German
------------------------

"Heute habe ich vieles richtig gemacht in meinem Spiel und meine
Taktik von Anfang bis Ende durchgezogen. Ich konnte sie zum Laufen
bringen und mein eigenes Spiel aufbauen.

"Gestern habe ich bis Mitternacht Doppel gespielt, zudem wurde ich
in meinem ersten Doppelmatch von einem Ball in die Rippe getroffen,
was immer noch etwas schmerzt.

"Es ist mein erster Final seit längerer Zeit, was mich natürlich
sehr freut. Ich werde die Woche hier in Zürich sicher in guter
Erinnerung behalten."


Kuznetsova quotes {before the match}
-----------------

"Ich kenne Daniela Hantuchová ziemlich gut, weil wir einige Male
miteinander trainiert haben. Sie spielt hier in Zürich bisher sehr
gut, was es für mich sicher nicht leicht machen wird. Ich bin aber
momentan auch zufrieden mit dem Niveau, das ich spiele. Ich hatte
ein sehr konstantes Jahr, die guten Resultate im Frühjahr und in
Roland Garros haben mir neues Selbstvertrauen gegeben."

-----
Final (Sunday 22nd October)
-----

I'll post my report of the final in a separate message tomorrow.

-------
Doubles
-------

Daniela Hantuchová/Sugiyama,Ai:
1r + Nathalie Dechy/Mary Pierce [WC], 6-4 6-3
qf + YAN,ZI/ZHENG,JIE [2], 6-4 6-4
sf - CARA BLACK/RENNAE STUBBS [3], 4-6 6-1 6-7 (3/7)

Daniela and Ai had a slim chance of qualifying for the Sony Ericsson
Championships if they had won this title AND Kveta Peschke/Francesca
Schiavone had lost in the first round.

Since neither happened, Daniela and Ai will only get into the SEC if
one of the top four teams pulls out.

Race to the SEC: Team-standings as of 30th October:
1. LISA RAYMOND/SAMANTHA STOSUR (4000 points) - qualified
2. YAN,ZI/ZHENG,JIE (3022) - qualified
3. CARA BLACK/RENNAE STUBBS (2459) - qualified
4. KVETA PESCHKE/FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE (2116) - qualified
5. Daniela Hantuchová/Sugiyama,Ai (1930)

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

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