"Daniela Hantuchová"

Daniela Hantuchová (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈdaɲi̯ɛla ˈɦantuxɔvaː]; born 23 April 1983) is a Slovak professional tennis player. She is currently coached by Larri Passos. Her WTA Tour mentor in the "Partners for Success" program was Martina Navrátilová, who was her doubles partner for a brief period in early 2005. As of November 5, 2012, Hantuchová is ranked World No. 32 in singles. She turned professional in 1999 and had her breakthrough year in 2002, when she won her first Tier I tournament and ended the year in the top 10.

In 2005, she became the fifth female tennis player to win the mixed doubles title in all four Grand Slam tournaments during her career.

Hantuchová was born in Poprad, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia) to father Igor, a computer scientist, and mother Marianna, a toxicologist.

When her parents split up in 2003, Hantuchová's performances temporarily worsened. At Wimbledon that year, she failed to convert several match points and was seen weeping on court. She also suffered from a weight problem during this period. She was suspected of being anorexic, but denied this.

Hantuchová speaks three languages (Slovak, English, and German), and was trained as a classical pianist. She is thought to be a perfectionist and puts a lot of pressure on herself during her training. She qualified for university in Slovakia but deferred it to pursue tennis.

She appeared in the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition alongside Maria Kirilenko and Tatiana Golovin in a pictoral entitled Volley of the Dolls.

In July 2012, Hantuchová appeared nude on the 2012 edition of ESPN: The Magazine's "The Body Issue". She appeared on one of six special edition covers.

Hantuchová began the 2009 tour by participating in the Brisbane International as the tournament's fourth-seeded player. She was upset in the first round by Sara Errani, 7–6(1), 4–6, 2–6. Hantuchová then played the Medibank International in Sydney, where she lost in the second round to sixth-seeded Agnieszka Radwańska.

At the Australian Open, Hantuchová was seeded 19th and defeated home favourite Casey Dellacqua in their first-round match, 7–6(11), 6–4. She then beat Mathilde Johansson of France in the second round, before losing to 15th-seeded Alizé Cornet in the third round, 6–4, 4–6, 2–6. In the doubles competition, Hantuchová and her partner Ai Sugiyama made it to the final, where they lost to Serena Williams and Venus Williams.

At the Open GDF SUEZ in Paris, Hantuchová beat Ekaterina Makarova in the first round, before losing to Cornet in the second round. This was the third consecutive time she has lost to Cornet. Hantuchová then played in the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, where she lost to eventual runner-up Virginie Razzano in the third round. Because of her results at this tournament, Hantuchová's ranking improved five places to world no. 36. At the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, Hantuchová was the only two-time singles champion in the draw. Seeded 30th, Hantuchová fell to Sybille Bammer in the fourth round, 3–6, 2–6. Unseeded for the first time since 2001 at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, Hantuchová lost to 22nd-seeded Anna Chakvetadze in the second round, 3–6, 1–6.

Starting off the spring clay-court season as a wildcard at the MPS Group Championships in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, Hantuchová defeated eighth-seeded Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the second round, 6–3, 7–5. She then lost to eventual champion and second seed Caroline Wozniacki in the quarterfinals, 2–6, 2–6. Playing in the Fed Cup World Group play-offs, Hantuchová defeated Alizé Cornet, 6–7(2), 6–3, 6–4, in the first-round rubber, but lost to Amélie Mauresmo, 5–7, 4–6, in her next match.

Hantuchová played four tournaments before Roland Garros on European clay. She lost in the early rounds of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, the Rome Masters and the Madrid Masters to Dinara Safina, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Jelena Janković, respectively. In doubles at Rome, Hantuchová and Ai Sugiyama defeated first seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber in the quarterfinals. However, the pair lost to Hsieh Su-Wei and Peng Shuai, 5–7, 6–7(5), in the final. Her fourth event was the Warsaw Open, where she reached her second career clay-court semifinal, but lost to Romanian qualifier and eventual champion Alexandra Dulgheru, 4–6, 7–6(2), 1–6. Hantuchová was unseeded at the French Open and lost to Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano in the first round, 3–6, 3–6.

On grass, Hantuchová was seeded sixth at the Ordina Open in 's-Hertogenbosch. She fell to top seed Safina, 6–1, 4–6, 3–6, in the quarterfinals. Competing at her ninth Wimbledon, Hantuchová was unseeded in singles for the first time since 2004. She came from behind to defeat local teenager Laura Robson, 3–6, 6–4, 6–2, in the first round. She then upset 16th seed and the previous year's semifinalist Zheng Jie, 6–3, 7–5, and doubles partner Sugiyama, 6–4, 6–3. However, Hantuchová fell to second seed and eventual champion Serena Williams in the fourth round, 3–6, 1–6.

Hantuchová played her first-round match at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California, winning in three sets against defending champion Aleksandra Wozniak, 6–4, 4–6, 7–5. She then defeated seventh seed Agnieszka Radwańska in the second round, 4–6, 7–6(6), 6–1, but fell to third seed Elena Dementieva in the quarterfinals, 2–6, 4–6. In the LA Women's Tennis Championships, she lost to Dinara Safina, 2–6, 4–6. In the Western & Southern Financial Women's Open, she lost to Flavia Pennetta, 3–6, 3–6, after upsetting seventh seed Vera Zvonareva, 7–6(6), 0–6, 7–6(5). In the Rogers Cup in Toronto, she fell to qualifier Yaroslava Shvedova in the first round, 6–7(1), 6–7(4).

Hantuchová was seeded 22nd at the US Open. She defeated Meghann Shaughnessy, Timea Bacsinszky, and Vania King, but fell in the fourth round to second seed and defending champion Serena Williams, 2–6, 0–6.

At the Hansol Korea Open in Seoul, South Korea, Hantuchová was the top seed, but was upset by eventual chmapion Kimiko Date-Krumm in the quarterfinals, 6–7(3), 6–4, 4–6. She then competed in the Toray Pan Pacific Open and the China Open, where she reached the second round in both, before losing in three sets to 11th seed Agnieszka Radwańska and 13th seed Nadia Petrova, respectively.

Hantuchová finished the season in Europe at the BGL Luxembourg Open, where she was upset by unseeded Shahar Pe'er in the quarterfinals, 2–6, 6–7(4).

Hantuchová finished outside the top 20 for the second consecutive year at no. 24, with a win-loss record of 39–25. She went 25–16 on hard courts, 9–7 on clay, and 5–2 on grass. She was 1–9 versus top-10 players, with losses to Radwańska, Kuznetsova, Janković, Dementieva, Serena Williams (twice), and Safina (three times), with the sole victory over Zvonareva.

Hantuchová started the 2010 tour by competing at the Brisbane International. Seeded fourth, Hantuchová was upset by unseeded Andrea Petkovic in the quarterfinals, 4–6, 2–6. At the Medibank International in Sydney, Hantuchová fell to fifth seed and eventual champion Elena Dementieva in the second round, 2–6, 6–4, 2–6. Seeded 22nd at the Australian Open, Hantuchová fell to 16th seed and eventual semifinalist Li Na in the third round, 5–7, 6–3, 2–6.

Hantuchová defeated Zhang Shuai, 6–0, 6–1, in the Fed Cup tie against China in Bratislava prior to the Dubai Tennis Championships. In Dubai, Hantuchová upset fifth seed Dementieva through retirement, after winning the first set 6–4. However, she fell to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the third round, 3–6, 4–6.

Hantuchová was seeded second at the Monterrey Open in Monterrey, Mexico. She became one of the favorites after top seed Jelena Janković fell in the first round. Hantuchová fought from a set down to beat unseeded Vania King, 2–6, 6–2, 6–1, in the quarterfinals, and fourth seed Dominika Cibulková, 4–6, 6–3, 6–0, in the semifinals. However she fell to third seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the finals, 6–1, 1–6, 0–6. It was Hantuchová's first final since Linz in 2007. Hantuchová was upset at the BNP Paribas Open by Roberta Vinci in the second, after injuring her back during training earlier that day. At the Sony Ericsson Open, she gained a career-best in Miami, reaching the fourth round after recording straight-set victories over Patty Schnyder and 16th seed Nadia Petrova, but lost a very tight three-set match to third seed and eventual finalist Venus Williams, 6–1, 5–7, 4–6, in nearly three hours.

Hantuchová began the clay season by competing at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina. She upset second seed and world no. 7 Jelena Janković in the quarterfinals, 1–6, 6–3, 6–3. However, she fell to fourth seed and eventual champion Samantha Stosur in her third career clay-court semifinal, 3–6, 6–7(2). Following Charleston, Hantuchová helped Slovakia earn a place in the World Group I for the 2011 Fed Cup by scoring two singles victories and a doubles victory in the World Group play-offs against Serbia. She again defeated world no. 7 Janković in one of her singles matches for a second week in a row. Despite first-round loses in the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, Italy and in the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, Hantuchová rebounded at the French Open. Seeded 23rd, she upset 16th seed Yanina Wickmayer in the third round, but fell to fourth seed Jelena Janković in the fourth round.

Hantuchová played two tournaments on grass. She was defeated by Samantha Stosur at the AEGON International in Eastbourne and was then upset by Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová at Wimbledon.

To start off the US Open Series, Hantuchová lost in the opening-round to sixth seed Shahar Pe'er, 6–0, 4–6, 3–6, at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California. At the Mercury Insurance Open in San Diego, she upset sixth seed Marion Bartoli, 3–6, 7–6(3), 6–4, in the first round, saving three match points. She then beat Zheng Jie and Alisa Kleybanova to advance to the semifinals, where she fell to Agnieszka Radwańska in straight sets. Hantuchová then fell in the first rounds of the Cincinnati Masters, and the Rogers Cup to eventual semifinalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and 15th seed Flavia Pennetta, respectively. At the 2010 Pilot Pen Tennis, she fell to Dinara Safina, 6–7(4), 6–7(2).

As the 24th seed, Hantuchová defeated Dinara Safina and Vania King at the 2010 US Open, before falling to 12th seed Elena Dementieva in the third round.

Hantuchová fell in the early rounds in both the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Japan and the China Open. At the Generali Ladies Linz, Hantuchová was upset by Patty Schnyder, 4–6, 4–6, in the quarterfinals. At the BGL Luxembourg Open, she lost again in the early rounds to Angelique Kerber in three sets. Hantuchová received a wildcard to the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions in Bali, Indonesia. She upset Yanina Wickmayer in straight sets, but fell to Alisa Kleybanova in the semifinals. She also lost the third-place match to Kimiko Date-Krumm, 5–7, 5–7.

Hantuchová finished outside the top 20 for the third consecutive year at no. 30, with a win-loss record of 35–25. She was 3–5 versus top-10 players, with losses to Dementieva, Venus Williams, Janković, Stosur, and Radwańska, and with victories over Dementieva and Janković (twice).

Hantuchová withdrew from her first tournament of the year at the Brisbane International due to a left Achilles strain. She competed next at the Medibank International Sydney, but suffered a loss to María José Martínez Sánchez in the first round, 2–6, 4–6. At the Australian Open, she was the 28th seed, but lost in the first round to Regina Kulikova in three sets, 5–7, 6–3, 7–9. This is the first time Hantuchová had lost in the first round of the Australian Open, except her first appearance.

She then played at the PTT Pattaya Open, where she defeated Kurumi Nara, Kimiko Date-Krumm, and Akgul Amanmuradova, all in straight sets to reach the semifinals. There she upset top seed, world no. 3 and defending champion Vera Zvonareva, 7–6(3), 6–4. Hantuchová then won her first title in more than three years by defeating Sara Errani, 6–0, 6–2, in the final. Despite this, she fell to Anna Chakvetadze in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships the following week. However, she rebounded at the Qatar Ladies Open by upsetting sixth seed Victoria Azarenka in the first round, 4–6, 6–1, 6–2, but fell in the quarterfinals to second seed and eventual champion Vera Zvonareva, 7–5, 6–7(5), 7–5, despite serving for the match at 5–4 in the final set.

At the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California and the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Florida, Hantuchová lost in the early rounds to Dinara Safina and top seed Caroline Wozniacki, respectively. Partnering Agnieszka Radwańska, she reached the semifinals in Indian Wells, falling to the eventual champions, but won the doubles title in Miami, defeating Nadia Petrova and Liezel Huber.

On clay, Hantuchová was upset in the third round of the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina by Christina McHale. Hantuchová next competed on European red clay at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open in Madrid, Spain and the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, Italy. She fell in the early rounds of all three to Samantha Stosur in both Stuttgart and Madrid and to second seed Francesca Schiavone in Rome. However, Hantuchová rebounded at the Internationaux de Strasbourg, where she upset fourth seed Nadia Petrova in the quarterfinals, but fell to second seed Andrea Petkovic in the semifinals, 4–6, 6–3, 4–6. Seeded 28th at the French Open, Hantuchová defeated Zhang Shuai and Sara Errani in the first two rounds, both in straight sets. She then upset top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki, 6–1, 6–3 for her first win over a reigning world no. 1. However, Hantuchová fell to 13th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the fourth round, 7–6(6), 3–6, 2–6.

Hantuchová reached her second career grass-court final at the AEGON Classic in Birmingham, England, upsetting second seed Ana Ivanovic in the semifinals, 6–7(2), 6–3, 6–2, before falling to unseeded Sabine Lisicki, 3–6, 2–6. Competing at the AEGON International in Eastbourne, Hantuchová defeated second seed Li Na and Venus Williams, before retiring to fifth seed Petra Kvitová in the semifinals. Seeded 25th at the Wimbledon, Hantuchová fell to fourth seed Victoria Azarenka in the third round, 3–6, 6–3, 2–6.

Hantuchová fell in the early rounds of both the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California and the Rogers Cup in Toronto, Canada. She reached her sixth and seventh quarterfinals of the season at the Mercury Insurance Open in Carlsbad, California and at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, Ohio, but fell to third seed Agnieszka Radwańska and second seed Vera Zvonareva, respectively.

After a first-round loss at the US Open to Pauline Parmentier, Hantuchová reached the quarterfinals of the Bell Challenge and the Generali Ladies Linz losing to Marina Erakovic and top seed Petra Kvitova respectively.

Hantuchová finished the year at world no. 24 with a win loss record of 41–29. She went 5–11 against the top-10 with victories over Zvonareva, Azarenka, Wozniacki, Na, and Bartoli.


Hantuchová began the year at the Brisbane International, where she reached her first final of the year, defeating Dominika Cibulková and Vania King, before receiving a walkover in the quarterfinals when Serena Williams pulled out of the event with an ankle sprain. In the semifinals, she lost the first set to Kim Clijsters, before the Belgian retired with a hip injury midway through the second. In the final, Hantuchová was easily defeated by Kaia Kanepi, 6–2, 6–1. In Sydney, Hantuchová upset Francesca Schiavone in the second round, before falling to second seed Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinals. Seeded No. 20 at the Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia, Hantuchová fell to eventual semifinalist and defending champion Kim Clijsters in straight sets in the third round.

At Pattaya, she successfully defended her title by defeating No. 4 seed Maria Kirilenko 6–7(4), 6–3, 6–3 in the final. However, Hantuchová was upset in the first round of the Qatar Ladies Open in Doha, Qatar the following week by Simona Halep 3–6, 6–2, 7–6(4). At the Dubai Tennis Championships, she fell in the quarters to eventual finalist, Julia Görges, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4.

Hantuchová then suffered relatively unsuccessful tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami. She fell in the second round after a bye to Czech Klára Zakopalová 3–6, 7–6(7), 3–6. In Miami, she defeated Kateryna Bondarenko in a third set tiebreaker, before falling to Ana Ivanovic 2–6, 6–7(2). At the Fed Cup against Spain, she lost to Silvia Soler Espinosa 6–7(5), 4–6, before defeating Lourdes Domínguez Lino 0–6, 7–6(4), 6–4 to clinch the tie 3–2 for Slovakia.

Hantuchová lost her first round match at Wimbledon 2012 against Jamie Hampton, 4–6, 6–7.

In the 2012 London Olympics, Hantuchová upset No. 10 seed Li Na 6–2, 3–6, 6–3 in the first round. She then beat frenchwoman Alize Cornet 6–3, 6–0 in the second round. She faced No. 8 seed Caroline Wozniacki in the third round and lost 6–4 6–2.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org