Hantuchova Winning in Charleston

By Mike McIntyre

Daniela Hantuchova knocked off Jelena Jankovic in three sets in Charleston at the Family Circle Cup on Friday by a score of 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. She now advances to the semi-finals where she will face fourth seeded Sam Stosur. Vera Zvonereva and Caroline Wozniacki meet in the other semi.

I had the chance to interview Hantuchova last summer at the Toronto Masters event. Here is a sample from the resulting article of our chat, originally posted on Pro Tennis Fan on September 4, 2009.

 Once a perennial fixture in the top twenty, Hantuchova slipped out of the top forty earlier this year and only recently has shown some glimmers that she is ready to return. The game of tennis has certainly changed since Hantuchova made her debut on the women's tour in 1999 and the Slovakian was quick to admit she is not necessarily fan of where the sport is headed.

"Oh Gosh, it's changed so much," Hantuchova remarked. "It's all about power, very physical. And I have to say I much more preferred it before. You know those times of Martina Hingis and players like them, where it was more about the, you know, touch and the finesses of the game, and really playing the game of tennis. Now it's really just all about hitting the ball as hard as you can which I don't think is really good, but unfortunately that's the way it's been going the last few years."

Hantuchova has an all-court game but not one that could be labeled powerful by any stretch. She uses her angles effectively and tries to create the right opportunities to use them to her opponents detriment. That strategy seems more and more futile in a game littered with big hitters. Hantuchova admitted that her current game is becoming less and less effective than it used to be, although she feels confident that when it is working she can still beat just about anybody.

"I feel like if my Plan A is working I can play and beat anybody, but if that's not working I have to have a better backup."

I took an educated guess that her backup plan might involve more forays to the net. Being such a strong doubles player naturally implies that she has a deft touch at the net, yet we rarely see Hantuchova come in and volley in singles play. She fully agreed with this hypothesis and says it is one she has heard before.

"I've been told that many, many times and it's something I definitely want to improve next year, it's my number one goal because all these years everybody's been telling me how good I am at the net and what a touch I have but I never actually used it and um, so definitely that's going to be the priority next year."

One aspect of our conversation where Hantuchova was especially revealing was on the current state of the women's game and the hot-button issues that the media seems focused on. Here's a sampling of her takes on some of those issues.

Concerning the on-going debate on the number one ranking:

"Well it's tough I mean, during, I mean, before the summer, I would say Dinara. I mean, after the summer you know, it's maybe a little bit more open. I think it's a nice thing in women's tennis right now that there is such a great opportunity out there. I mean, it's not one player that's unbelievably strong. I do feel like Dinara deserves it because she's been so consistent the whole year. I mean even if she didn't win Grand Slams but she was in the finals of - I don't know how many - so, okay Serena maybe wins a Slam but then she loses first round and I mean the number one should be the one that's consistent all the year, so definitely I think Dinara deserves it."

Her take on grunting on the court:

"Well it's getting ridiculous. I mean, I don't think it was as bad you know, when I stated on the tour and as long as the players do it without actually realizing then it's fine. I mean, sometimes you know, you can't really control it, but maybe there are cases where they do it on purpose which is not very nice, not very fair play."

Regarding the ability to use on-court coaching at certain tournaments:

"Well, I mean, I was not really against it or for it. I mean, I don't really care. It's nice to have that help if you need to, but I've always said that you know, the players should be able to work out things on their own on the court. I think that's what the beauty of the game, you know, that the one that's smarter should be winning."

If Hantuchova could be tour CEO she would...

"Well definitely what we are seeing now is getting the season shorter, which is great. I would still like to see Australia starting in February so we could all enjoy a nice Christmas and some really nice down time with our families. Because you know, like basically you have no Christmas, you have to be already on the plan to Australia, so that would be a really nice thing to see. Also maybe more time between the French Open and Wimbledon. But that's something, you know, that hasn't been changed for the last 200 years. But, you know, that's a tough thing to do. Other thing I would love is to have much, much less media - media requests for the - especially for the young players. I mean I'm at the stage where I know how to deal with it, but you know, when you are young and coming up, sometimes it can be too much and I think we are all here to do out best as athletes and sometimes it can interfere with other things. So I think the focus should be more on the game of tennis."

For a player who seems so quiet on the court and soft-spoken off of it, I was surprised with how much Hantuchova had to say on these topics and how strongly she seemed to feel towards them. This is definitely a player who has a big vision of how the game of tennis should be played and what kind of game she would prefer to be a part of.

As for her place within the game at the moment, it is difficult to assess what the future might have in store for Daniela Hantuchova. She started 2008 with a bang but then had her season derailed by a stress fracture in her right heel. It seems like it has taken some time for her to regain her confidence, but has now made fourth round appearances at two Slams back to back. Hantuchova sounds very optimistic on her chances.

"Um, well just the challenge you know, of waking up every morning and just trying to be the best I can. I really enjoy that part. I think that's what still drives me and keeps my motivation high up. I think there are still so many things I want to achieve that I haven't done in the past.

Perhaps with some tinkering to her game in the off season we might see more of Hantuchova at the net and as a result of that aggressive play, some improved results as well.

 

Sony Ericsson Round One Update

By Mike McIntyre

The first round of women's action at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami was completed on Wednesday without any upsets to speak of. With the top thirty-two players receiving byes through to the second round, there really weren't many opportunities for upsets though I suppose.

Of the notable names in action, veterans Patty Schyder and Kimiko Date Krumm advanced in three sets respectively. In a match between two players on the comeback trail, Australia's Alicia Molik thrashed returning mother Ashley Harkleroad of the United States 6-1, 6-1. Justine Henin got by Jill Craybas 6-2, 6-2 to move on to an exciting second round match against fifth seeded Elena Dementieva. Up and coming American Melanie Oudin defeated Michaella Krajicek 6-2, 6-4.

Qualifiers fared decently as they managed a 5-6 record against higher ranked players who already had a guaranteed spot in the draw. There really are some advantages to having already played two pre-tournament matches as is evidenced by that statistic.

Some interesting second round matches on deck include Oudin against eleventh seeded Vera Zvonareva. Oudin has typically played well against high-ranked Russian's and could really use the confidence boost of defeating a top level player after a so-so start to 2010. Meanwhile, the Daniela Hantuchova versus Patty Schyder match has three sets written all over it.

Noticeably missing from action here in Miami are Serena Williams (knee), Dinara Safina (back) and Maria Sharapova (elbow) which has contributed to a somewhat sparse opening round.

On the men's side, only the bottom half of the draw saw action on Wednesday and as with the women there were no shocking upsets to discuss.

Richard Gasquet losing to diminutive Oliver Rochus was surprising, while Mario Ancic losing to Jeremy Chardy reveals that the tall Croat still has a ways to go after returning from mono. One player who must have been happy to get the win was Argentine David Nalbandian who also recently returned to the tour.

Another nice sight was Taylor Dent defeating veteran qualifier Rainer Schuettler in straight sets. While I know that members of the media are supposed to stay unbiased, I really have a soft spot for the serve and volley style that Dent brings to the game. And how can you not root for a guy who thought his career was over due to a serious back injury?

A close first-round match saw another American, James Blake, narrowly defeat eighteen year old wildcard Filip Krajinovic from Serbia 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-4. Something tells me we should be keeping an eye on this kid in the future. 

Keep checking back at Pro Tennis Fan for further updates and analysis as the Sony Ericsson Open continues in Miami.

Pavlyuchenkova Defeats Hantuchova for Monterrey Open Title

By Mike McIntyre

As if Russia needed another women's tennis player to be winning titles on the WTA Tour. Add Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to an already abundant number of talented Russian women on the WTA Tour. The eighteen year old defeated Daniela Hantuchova 1-6, 6-1, 6-0 to claim the title at the Monterrey Open in Mexico. It was the second time in a matter of weeks that she had beaten Hantuchova, as the two paired off in Dubai recently with Pavlyuchenkova prevailing 6-3, 6-4 in that encounter. 

Russia currently has eleven players in the top fifty on the women's tour and its newest winner should get a boost towards the top twenty after her performance here this past week. For those of you who have not heard of Pavlyuchenkova, she was quite an accomplished junior player who won three Grand Slam junior events in 2006 and has also won four doubles Grand Slam junior titles.

After her impressive run this week in Mexico, it appears as though the young Russian is getting ready to make her mark on the pro tour. As we approach Indian Wells we should remember that Pavlyuchenkova had a great run there last year as she reached the semi-finals before falling to Ana Ivanovic. 

Around the Corner: Davis Cup and the Monterrey Open

By Mike McIntyre

A mixed bag of events are around the corner this week. To kick off the month of March, the men are involved in the first round of Davis Cup competition. The women meanwhile are in Mexico for the Monterrey Open. Both tour's are inching closer to the combined event in Indian Wells that begins in two weeks.

Davis Cup:

Here are the match-ups for the first round of the World Group starting March 5th.

Spain vs. Switzerland - Logrono, Spain;

No Nadal or Federer in this match-up unfortunately. Spain is the huge favorite as this will be played on clay and can rely on David Ferrer, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Tommy Robredo.

France vs. Germany - Toulon, France;

Without veterans Tommy Haas and Nicolas Kiefer, Germany will be in tough on hard courts against a French team that includes Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils.

Russia vs. India - Moscow, Russia;

Nikolay Davydenko and Mikhail Youzhny should own India in singles competition, but look for the Indian duo of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupati to win the doubles match.

Sweden vs. Argentina - Stockholm, Sweden;

The indoor hard-court conditions should be ideal for Sweden's Robin Soderling who should win both of his singles matches. This will be a tough match-up for Argentina as David Nalbandian is once again on the injury list.

Croatia vs. Ecuador - Varazdin, Croatia;

Marin Cilic and Ivo Karlovic are going to make life very difficult for the Lapentti brothers on the hardcourts in Varazdin.

Serbia vs. United States - Belgrade, Serbia;

This should be a very interesting match-up, with Novak Djokovic leading the way for Serbia and the Bryan brothers countering for the United States. In the end it will come down to how Sam Querrey and John Isner can respond as the lead singles players for the U.S. on the red clay in Belgrade. Serbia has the definite edge considering the chosen surface.

Chile vs. Israel - Coquimbo, Chile;

On paper, the Chilean squad led by Fernando Gonzalez should be favored on clay against Israel, but in 2009 the Israeli's put on quite a show in Davis Cup play and made it all the way to the semi-finals. They cannot be counted out in this tie in Coquimbo. The doubles duo of Andy Ram and Jonathan Elrich are quite the force.

Belgium vs. Czech Republic - Bree, Belgium

Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek lead the way for the Czechs against veterans Olivier Rochus and Xavier Malisse. The Belgians will really have to rely on using the energy from the home-court advantage to have a hope against the higher-ranked Czech's.

Monterrey Open:

A year ago, Marion Bartoli won the innaugaural Monterrey Open against Li Na 6-4, 6-3.

This year, Jelena Jankovic leads the tournament as the top seed and perhaps this event offers her the opportunity to get her game back on track. Struggling mightily for the past year, the Serbian has great talent but a mental game that is as fragile as they come.

Other names to keep an eye on in Monterrey include Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, Aleks Wozniak from Canada and Melanie Oudin of the United States. All of these players could benefit from a strong run and without many of the tour's top players in attendance should be able to get some momentum ahead of Indian Wells.

Jelena Dokic leads the qualifying tournament as the top seed and will be looking to post her first substantial result of 2010. While Dokic had a fantastic start to 2009 by making the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, she has failed to repeat that success this year and is 1-3 in tournament play.

Women's 2010 Australian Open Preview

By Mike McIntyre

When was the last time the women's game had this much depth? I'm not knocking the WTA Tour, which in fact has had more depth in recent years than the men's Federer vs. Nadal show. When I look at the Australian Open draw though, I'm just floored with the amount of talent out there. This is a fantastic way to kick-off the 2010 Grand Slam calendar.

The Favorites:

Number one ranked Serena Williams has a pretty sweet ride to the quarter-finals from the looks of it. I don't expect her to drop a set for the first week that's for sure. There's simply nobody in her section of the draw that can keep up with her power, experience and winning-attitude. If she truly did tweak something against Elena Dementieva in Sydney, this draw gives her some time before she has to bring out her 'A' game. Williams will be the favorite to add to her existing collection of four Aussie Open titles, the most recent being a year ago.

A nice third round match-up in the top-half could include Vera Zvonareva against Ana Ivanovic. Either one of these players could use a good Grand Slam showing to correct their career progress after a disappointing 2009. Zvonareva started strong in 2009 with a semi-final showing in Australia, but after missing two months in the middle of the year with injury she never returned to top form. Ivanovic's season was a total disaster and it was hard to believe she was ever the number one ranked player in the world. One of these two should still be able to push through to the quarters.

U.S. Open finalist Caroline Wozniacki has a great path to perhaps a semi-final berth in Australia. Only Daniela Hantuchova may cause her some trouble before the quarters, although Hantuchova has not had a big win in quite some time.

Wozniacki may meet the winner of an intriguing fourth round match between Americans Venus Williams and Melanie Oudin. A Williams/Oudin match would give tennis fans a nice glimpse of the past, present and future of American tennis and perhaps that future is now. Oudin has some winnable matches early on while Venus has looked mediocre since Wimbledon and as she approaches thirty, is only a huge threat on grass.  

In the bottom-half don't get your hopes up for second-seeded Dinara Safina. The mentally fragile Russian attained the number one ranking for a period of time in 2009, but will most be remembered for tanking in two Slam finals in Australia and Paris, along with a brutal defeat in the semi's at Wimbledon. A back injury hampered the last portion of her season and was acting up again at the start of 2010 to keep her out of Brisbane. Safina does not have enough match-play under her belt to be considered a major threat here in Australia nor is her mental game ready to compete in this first Slam of the season.

There are plenty of other top-level players ready to contend for the title in the bottom section of the draw however, and the Belgians are leading the charge. 

Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin and Yanina Wickmayer are all in the same quarter of the draw, which is unfortunate because they could all have easily advanced quite far given their play of late. Clijsters has the most favorable path and should get past Svetlana Kuznetsova to make the quarter-finals. A second-consecutive Slam is a distinct possibility for her.

Henin, entered as a wild card, is not going to enjoy the same Grand Slam return that Clijsters had at the U.S. Open. After a first round match with up and coming Sorana Cirstea, Henin will most definitely face fifth seeded Elena Dementieva - the same Dementieva who just won in Sydney defeating Serena in the finals. Henin leads their head-to-head battles 9-2, but will have to fight hard to beat the in-form Russian. I think Henin can beat Dementieva, but expecting her to have a similar Cinderella-run like Clijsters did in Flushing Meadows is unlikely.

The third Belgian, and the future of tennis in that country, Yanina Wickmayer, has already fought through three qualifying matches in order to secure entry into the tournament. Wickmayer was not allowed to take the 16th seeded spot that she is due because of the timing of her return from a mishandled doping violation. She may face Italian Flavia Pennetta in the second round and either Henin or Dementieva in the fourth round. Regardless of how she fares here in Australia, the twenty year old has a bright future ahead of her.

In the very last quarter of the draw we've got the unpredictable Jelena Jankovic. Fairing no better than the fourth round of any Slam in 2009, Jankovic has much to prove this year. She has a nice section of the draw and should stay untroubled until the quarter-finals. Don't expect her to move much farther than that however, as the Serbian is not the huge threat she used to be.

Do keep an eye on Maria Sharapova to have a big Aussie Open. The talented Russian has come back admirably from shoulder surgery last year and has the power game to defeat anyone on tour. If she can keep her serve consistent and free of double-digit double faults, then she is more than capable of winning this tourney. If she does come up against Safina in the round of sixteen, I see Sharapova advancing with ease. There are more Grand Slam titles within her and this could be the next one on her list. 

Anticipated First-Round Matches:

Kimiko Date-Krumm vs Yaroslava Shvedova: The 39 year old veteran Date-Krumm has been very impressive since returning to the tour in 2008 and has worked herself back into being a dangerous player to face. Her return is even more impressive given the fact she was away from the sport for twelve years. She'll face a difficult player in Shvedova, who impressed in the late stages of 2009 with victories over Daniela Hantuchova in Toronto and Jelena Jankovic at the U.S. Open.

Caroline Wozniacki vs Aleksandra Wozniak: It amazes me how often these two near-identical names get paired together in so many tournaments. Unfortunately for the Canadian Wozniak, it rarely ends up in her favor. The fourth seeded Wozniacki has won five of their six meetings although the pair have usually produced closely contested matches. Wozniak is ranked 34th in the world right now, so this is a fairly strong first rounder.

Jelena Dokic vs Alisa Kleybanova: While it was nice to watch Dokic have her fairy-tale run to the quarter-finals in last year's edition, the same fate will be difficult to duplicate. Dokic faces hard-hitting Russian Kleybanova whom she defeated here in the fourth round last year by a tight score of 7-5, 5-7, 8-6. Kleybanova's court movement is limited due to her stature, but she can really hit the ball and was able to defeat Venus Williams, Vera Zvonareva and Jelena Jankovic (twice) in 2009.

 

 

Henin Set to Return to Tennis in Brisbane

By Mike McIntyre

While both the ATP and Sony Ericcson WTA tours are ready to begin play on Sunday, all eyes will be watching Brisbane and focused on the return of Justine Henin.

After retiring in May 2008, Henin is set to resume her career and draws second-seeded Nadia Petrova in her first match back. Henin holds an incredible 11-2 edge in their head-to-head and it might not be a stretch to label her the favorite.

After watching Kim Clijsters win a Grand Slam only three tournaments into her own comeback last year, there are no limits on what the feisty Henin might accomplish.

Henin certainly picked a good tournament for her return, as there is just enough competition in Brisbane to make it interesting. Should she advance past the first round, the only major obstacle in her half of the draw would be third seeded Ana Ivanovic. Ivanovic's game was ripe with inconsistencies in 2009, and it will be interesting to see how she begins the current season.

In the top half of the draw resides number one seeded Kim Clijsters. She could potentially face another returning player in round two, Alicia Molik. Molik was limited to some smaller ITF tournaments in Australia in 2009 and is making her first singles appearance at a regular tour event since 2008. She is partnered in the doubles draw with fellow Aussie Casey Dellacqua.

Canada's Aleksandra Wozniak also lurks in the top half and is capable up some solid results on hard courts. It has been some time since my home country has had a contender on either the ATP or WTA tour and it will be interesting to see if Wozniak can add to the success she enjoyed a year ago.

Fourth seeded Daniela Hantuchova is in the mix as well. Hantuchova is not entered in the doubles draw here and it remains to be seen who she picks as her partner on tour in 2010 following the retirement of Ai Sugiyama. When I spoke to Daniela in Toronto last summer she assured me that she planned on using her doubles skills in singles competition in the new year, hoping to make use of her strong net play. We'll see if that promise holds true.

While Clijsters is making her first appearance back in Australia since 2007, the focus will shift suddenly to her fellow Belgian, Justine Henin. Both will be looking to make a good returning impression down-under as we quickly approach the first Grand Slam of the year.