Daniela Hantuchova
Daniela Hantuchova
Daniela Hantuchováis a Slovak tennis player. She turned professional in 1999 and had her breakthrough year in 2002, when she won her first WTA tournament, the Indian Wells Masters, defeating Martina Hingis in the final and becoming the lowest-ranked player to ever win the tournament. She also reached the quarterfinals of that year's Wimbledon Championship and US Open, ending the year in the top 10. She was part of the Slovak team that won the 2002 Fed Cup and the...
ProfessionTennis Player
Date of Birth23 April 1983
CityPoprad, Slovakia
Yeah, I think there are many other important things in life, not just tennis.
I started when I was six years old. My first coach was my granny, she was the best player in Slovakia.
Well, maybe the first few games I was a little bit tense, but then I started to play my game so I was more relaxed. I don't think I was tense at all.
There were a lot of points where if I could have won those, it would have made a difference, and who knows what would happen in the third set?
Some players prefer to play one point after another. I prefer to take more time. There's nothing you can do about it.
Definitely I felt like I always played well in Tokyo, I like the fast speed of the ball, it's very similar to grass.
It is pretty unlucky she could not continue. Winning like this is no fun.
I think we all know how well she can really play. But to her credit, I thought she kept fighting until the end.
I went for some stupid shots and was not patient enough. If you don't take your chances and she starts to feel she's getting on top, it's so hard to stop her. I didn't play the right shots the right way.
I was just really glad how I stuck in there and kept fighting for every point. That's what makes the difference for me, now being able to win these matches.
I always believed in myself. I guess the way to get there is to keep working hard and fight all the way.
This was one of the best matches I've played against her. I tried to step it up a little bit, went for my shots and be aggressive, but at same time be a little smarter.
But I definitely feel like grass suits my game, as well, and I feel like probably if I could pick a surface, it would be grass to play her on.
It's never as easy as it looks, I'm just happy to be advancing through the rounds here.