This year started so greatly for Daniela with her first Major 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.
2008 Wimbledon - Women's Preview (Thursday 19th June 2008)
Nick Bollettieri
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Daniela Hantuchová (SVK)
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 137 lbs.
D.O.B: 23rd April 1983
Turned Pro: May 1999
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Current Ranking: 10
2008 Titles: None
2007 Wimbledon: Round of 16 (4th Round)
Nick's Thoughts:
Hantuchová hasn't played since Amelia Island due to injuries, which is never a good thing heading into a Major. 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.
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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!
+ 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.
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).
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).
Daniela had an impressive W:UE ratio of 35:27 (including 22:19 for the first set), while Errani was considerably more conservative with 20:11.
Daniela served 2 aces and 4 double faults (all 4 coming in the first set), Errani 3 double faults and no aces.
Daniela got 67% of her first serves in, winning 61% of the points when she did so, and 46% on second serve. Her first-serve percentages improved dramatically from (58%, 52%) for the first set to (80%, 71%) for the second, although her second-serve percentage dropped from 50% to 33%.
The corresponding percentages for Errani were less impressive: 56%, 56% and 45%. Like Daniela, she improved her first-serve winning-percentage considerably from the first set (50%) to the second (67%), at the expense of her second-serve percentage (50% to 38%).
Daniela broke 5 times from 7 BPs (3 of 4 in the first set, 2 of 3 in the second), which is a very efficient conversion-rate for her. Errani had all of 11 BPs, but converted just 4 - she'd be particularly disappointed that she only converted 3 of 8 in the first set.
Daniela was selective and very successful with her net-approaches, winning 9 of 10 points at the net (4 of 4 in the first set, and a more adventurous 5 of 6 in the shorter second), while Errani won 5 of 9.
In points, Daniela won 75-68 (first set 43-42, second set 32-26).
In summary: so close in some statistics (points won, second-serve winning-percentages), yet so far apart in others (W:UE ratios, first serves in, BP conversion-rates).
Hantuchová back in style, seeds cruise
Written by Adam Lincoln (www.wimbledon.org)
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Seeds faced some stern tests as the bottom half of the draw was played out, but all came through with flying colours on the second day of the Championships. None will be more pleased with her win than tenth seed Daniela Hantuchová, who brushed aside two months of injury-frustration with a 7-6 (7/5) 6-4 defeat of Italy's Sara Errani on Court 6.
The Slovak, whose last match was a loss to Karolina Šprem at Amelia Island in April, missed the entire European clay-court season due to a stress-fracture in her right heel, and withdrew from the Ordina Open warm-up event in the Netherlands last week.
Aside from a three-game wobble after she had built a 5-1 lead in the second set against the world number 57, the 25-year-old will take heart from her efforts.
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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 (3-6 3-6), 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.
Wimbledon 2008: Day 4 Preview
http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/1/newsroom/stories/?ContentID=2375
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(10) Daniela Hantuchová (SVK) vs. Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) - First meeting
No.10 seed Hantuchová, who recently has been suffering from a right-heel injury causing her to withdraw from 's-Hertogenbosch, Berlin, Rome, Istanbul and Roland Garros, hasn't had as much match-practice this season as she would have hoped. But at the beginning of the year, she showed hope by reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open – the furthest she's got in a Major – and the quarter-finals of three Tour-events.
Up-and-coming 18-year Kleybanova has had a lot of success on the ITF circuit, and also reached the quarter-finals at Eastbourne as a qualifier just last week.
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- 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.
HANTUCHOVÁ * * @ 3 KLEYBANOVA * *@ @*@ 6
The match was fourth on Court 3 - thanks to Rainer Schüttler and James Blake for extending their match to avoid a clash with Maria Sharapova's - and started at 18:03 BST.
Daniela serving 0-0: 40/0. 40/15. Held.
Kleybanova serving 0-1: 15/0. 15/15. 40/15. 40/30. Held.
Daniela serving 1-1: 30/0 to 30/30. 40/30. 40/40. Ad Daniela. Held.
Kleybanova serving 1-2: 40/0. Held.
Daniela serving 2-2: 0/30. 15/30. 15/40. 30/40. Broken.
Kleybanova serving 3-2: 0/15. 15/15. 40/15 to 40/40. Ad Daniela (BP). Broken.
Daniela serving 3-3: 0/30 to 40/30. 40/40. Ad Kleybanova (BP). Broken.
Kleybanova serving 4-3: 15/15. 40/15. Held.
Daniela serving 3-5: 0/40 (SP #1). Kleybanova won the first set 6-3 at 18:41 (38 minutes).
HANTUCHOVÁ * *@*@* 6 KLEYBANOVA *@* * 4
Kleybanova serving 0-0: 30/0 to 30/30. 40/30. Held.
Daniela serving 0-1: 0/40. Broken.
Kleybanova serving 2-0: 0/15. 40/15. Held.
Daniela serving 0-3: 15/0. 30/15. 40/30. Held.
Kleybanova serving 3-1: 40/0 to 40/40. Ad Kleybanova. Deuce #2. Ad Kleybanova. Held.
Daniela serving 1-4: 15/15. 30/15... held.
Kleybanova serving 4-2: 0/30. 15/30. 15/40 to 40/40. Ad Daniela (BP #3). Broken.
Daniela serving 3-4: 0/15. 15/15. 30/30. 30/40 (BP). 40/40. Ad Daniela. Held.
Good fightback by Daniela from *1-4. I thought she was going to lose already at 30/40, which would have given Kleybanova *5-3.
Kleybanova serving 4-4: 0/15. 30/15. 30/40. Broken.
YAY!! Daniela might actually win this!
Daniela serving 5-4: 30/0... Daniela won the second set 6-4 at 19:26 (second set 45m, match so far 1h23m).
From *1-4 down, Daniela won the last five games of the second set!
HANTUCHOVÁ * 1 KLEYBANOVA * *@*@* 6
Freeview BBCi joined the match at the start of the third set, as Daniela was taking a bathroom-break.
Kleybanova serving 0-0: Serve + forehand winner. 15/0. Kleybanova forehand netcord-winner. 30/0. Daniela crosscourt forehand wide. 40/0. Daniela forehand return just long.
Daniela serving 0-1: Kleybanova crosscourt forehand return-winner. 15/0. Kleybanova wild forehand very long. 15/15. Kleybanova crosscourt forehand long. 30/15. A deep, hard crosscourt backhand return induced Daniela to hit a down-the-line backhand wide. 30/30. Kleybanova hit a short-angled crosscourt forehand winner just inside the sideline (there was a shout of "out", but I think it came from a spectator). 30/40 (BP). Kleybanova crosscourt forehand return just wide. 40/40. Daniela ran down a dropshot and bunted a forehand winner down the line. Ad Daniela. Kleybanova crosscourt backhand return long.
Kleybanova serving 1-1: Crosscourt forehand return + forehand down the line forced Kleybanova to net a backhand. 0/15. Kleybanova sprayed a forehand very long. 0/30. Serve out wide + forehand dropshot-winner. 15/30. A big, deep forehand return forced Kleybanova to dump a forehand into the bottom of the net. 15/40 (BP #1). Serve out wide + crosscourt backhand winner. 30/40 (BP #2). Daniela's backhand clipped the netcord and fell back on her side. 40/40. Double fault (second serve long). Ad Daniela (BP #3). Daniela hit a good crosscourt backhand return, but Kleybanova scraped a one-handed backhand into court, came to the net, and Daniela netted a forehand. Deuce #2. Daniela forehand long. Ad Kleybanova. Daniela on the fourth stroke netted a forehand.
Daniela resumes her favourite hobby of squandering break-points.
Daniela serving 1-2: Daniela on the third stroke sprayed a wild backhand very long. 0/15. Daniela sliced a backhand into the net. 0/30. Daniela ran down a dropshot, but ran around her backhand and hit an "awful" forehand long & wide. 0/40 (BP #1). Daniela played a delightful spreading rally, finishing with a soft, short-angled crosscourt forehand that forced Kleybanova to net a forehand. 15/40 (BP #2). Forehand return clipped the netcord and fell wide. 30/40 (BP #3). Kleybanova netted a backhand return. 40/40. Daniela hit a crosscourt forehand back behind Kleybanova, forcing her to net a forehand. Ad Daniela. She walked to the net to argue her first serve being called wide. Kleybanova forehand winner down the line. Deuce #2. Kleybanova crosscourt backhand winner. Ad Kleybanova (BP #4). Kleybanova started grunting like Maria Sharapova, but Daniela moved her around, forcing her to net a backhand. Deuce #3. Kleybanova hit a forehand long off a deep backhand from Daniela, and whacked the canvas at the back of the court with her racket. Ad Daniela. Kleybanova off-forehand winner (clipped the netcord). Deuce #4. Daniela forehand long. Ad Kleybanova (BP #5). Daniela hit a pinpoint backhand down the line, forcing Kleybanova to hit a crosscourt forehand wide. Deuce #5. Daniela netted a backhand. Ad Kleybanova (BP #6). Daniela gave Kleybanova the break with a down-the-line backhand just long.
Jo Durie: "It's either good or bad from Kleybanova - you just do not know what's coming next from her. But I like the raw edge to her: she's young, and she's showing it all."
Kleybanova serving 3-1: Daniela hit a forehand return onto the baseline, forcing Kleybanova to net a forehand. 0/15. Daniela dumped a "really weak" backhand return halfway up the net. 15/15. Daniela sprayed a crosscourt forehand wide. 30/15. Daniela unleashed an error-forcing, netcord-clipping forehand down the line. 30/30. Kleybanova hit a crosscourt backhand winner, and gave a yell of delight. 40/30. Service-winner down the middle: on the service-line.
Well, Daniela recovered from *1-4 in the second set - can she do so again?
Daniela serving 1-4: A deep crosscourt forehand return down the middle forced Daniela on the back foot to hit an off-forehand wide. 0/15. Daniela, driven wide, netted a forehand. 0/30. Daniela sprayed a down-the-line forehand wide after resisting some precise placements from Kleybanova. 0/40. Daniela blasted a crosscourt backhand just long.
Jo Durie: "Hantuchová's the one that's cracked."
Kleybanova serving 5-1: Daniela netted a backhand. 15/0. Ace out wide: on the sideline. 30/0. Virtual ace out wide: on the sideline. Kleybanova emitted a sharp shout of "c'mon". 40/0 (MP #1). First serve down the middle: Daniela hit a deep forehand return just inside the baseline, rocking Kleybanova back on her heels and forcing her to net a forehand. 40/15 (MP #2). Ace #10: out wide, just inside the sideline. Kleybanova won 6-3 4-6 6-1 at 20:10 (third set 44 minutes including Daniela's bathroom-break at the start, match 2h07m).
Jo Durie: "Hantuchová is only just coming back from an injury. We'll be seeing more of her this year."
My only chance to see more of Daniela this year would be at the Olympics, though I doubt the BBC would deign to televise her there. :-(
Daniela had a weak W:UE ratio of 10:19 (including 1:8 for the third set), while Kleybanova's was an impressive 47:32.
Kleybanova served 10 aces and 9 double faults (7 and 5 in the second set), Daniela one ace and 2 double faults.
Daniela got 67% of her first serves in, winning 56% of the points when she did so, and 38% on second serve. Set by set, it seems that the more first serves she got in, the lower her winning-percentages were: first set (70%, 57%, 20%), second set (63%, 65%, 60%), third set (68%, 47%, 33%).
The corresponding percentages for Kleybanova were 51%, 71% and 54% - much better winning-percentages than Daniela. Set by set, it seems that the fewer first serves she got in, the better her second-serve winning-percentage: first set (35%, 63%, 67%), second set (63%, 73%, 23%), third set (48%, 75%, 69%).
Kleybanova broke 6 times from 15 BPs, Daniela 3 times from 8 BPs. Both players' BP conversion-rates deteriorated from set to set; Kleybanova won the first set by 3 breaks to 1, Daniela the second by 2 breaks to 1, Kleybanova the third by 2 breaks to 0 (with Daniela wasting 3 BPs).
Kleybanova served faster than Daniela in all three categories: fastest 118-105 mph, average first serve 107-98 mph, average second serve 91-88 mph. Kleybanova has a particularly big serve for a woman, then.
Kleybanova won 8 of 10 points at the net, while Daniela won all 5 points she played at the net. Daniela served & volleyed 1% of the time, Kleybanova not at all.
In points, Kleybanova won 96-75 (first set 33-23, second set 29-33, third set 34-19).
Hantuchová joins departing seeds
Written by Adam Lincoln (www.wimbledon.org)
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Daniela Hantuchová's comeback from injury was dealt a blow in the second round, as young Russian Alisa Kleybanova used shock and awe to defeat the tenth-seed 6-3 4-6 6-1.
For the first set and a half of their match, Hantuchová was bamboozled by an astonishing display of power and accuracy by her 18-year-old opponent.
Although she made few unforced errors, the Slovak star - playing her first tournament since April after suffering a stress-fracture to her right heel - was kept firmly on the back foot by Kleybanova's cannonballs.
Playing in only her third Major main draw, the Russian was imperious as she broke for 4-3 in the opener, and again to take the first set. She began the second set with an ace, and seemed on course for a remarkably easy win as she moved to a 4-1 lead. But with victory in sight, errors marred her hitherto flawless play, and Hantuchová applied her greater experience to put together a five-game winning-streak for the second set.
Both players had plenty of chances in the early stages of the third, and Hantuchová may have nightmares about an unlucky netcord at a crucial moment, but when Kleybanova finally converted a sixth break-point for a 3-1 lead, Slovak resistance faltered.
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