|
|
A
Women's Star Is Born
Hantuchova Storms Through Indian Wells
and Turns the Game on Its Ear
By The
B Man
Outsports Tennis Correspondent
By winning the prestigious, and lucrative, Pacific Life Open title on Saturday
night in Indian Wells, Calif., 18-year-old Daniela Hantuchova effectively gave the hand to those who lamented the “predictability” of women’s tennis. Seeded just
18th, Daniela tore through the draw, and tore through her final opponent Martina Hingis, blitzing to a 6-3, 6-4 finish.
This was the Slovakian’s first final. And she won it. Martina Hingis, her challenger, lost her first career final. And lost it miserably. By winning, Hantuchova has recorded one of the most startling upsets in the sport, and has turned women’s tennis on it’s ear.
When Jelena Dokic won her first career title last year, we didn’t write a special article like this. That’s because Jelena had already been recognized as an emerging talent. With Hantuchova, the period between recognition and fruition has been incredibly short. She burst onto the scene just months ago at the Australian Open, giving Venus Williams all she could handle and more. To be fair, Hantuchova
had some close encounters with the likes of Jennifer Capriati, Lindsay Davenport, and Amelie Mauresmo last year. But seeing her play Venus so well on
TV … that was different.
We were so awed by Daniela’s marvelous play Down Under, and by her record in 2001, that we gave her special recognition in our
preseason tennis
rankings. We may have underestimated her talent.
She’s done what big talkers Anna Kournikova and Alexandra Stevenson haven’t: she’s actually WON a tournament on the WTA tour. And not just any tournament. This event at Indian Wells is a big
frickin’ deal.
A lot can be said to denigrate Daniela’s win. JenCap and the Williams Sisters weren’t here. Nor was Lindsay Davenport. Some may say her win was a fluke, or that beating Martina Hingis really isn’t a big deal.
We’ll remind naysayers that Anna K. still hasn’t captured a tournament victory.
Yeah, we know we just said that, but we’ll say it again. We’ll add that Daniela beat some pretty solid competition en route to her first title, too: Barbara Schett, Justine Henin, and Lisa Raymond aren’t exactly chopped
liver.
For Daniela to beat not only those players, but also a seasoned finalist the likes of Martina
Hingis … it’s nearly unfathomable. Elena Dementieva burst onto the scene in a hurry, but she hasn’t done much since her
U.S. Open and Olympic semifinal appearances. When Henin and Kim Clijsters reached relative Grand Slam success last year, neither was totally unknown. And when
Dokic won her first tournament event at the Italian Open last year, it was a slight surprise, but nowhere near the stature of what Daniela has accomplished. It’s as if
she has come out of nowhere.
Pam Shriver and Mary Jo Fernandez will tell you Hantuchova’s game is reminiscent of Lindsay Davenport’s. We think they’re wrong. Look at Hantuchova’s loosey-goosey forehand, and you see a younger Venus Williams. Ditto with her penetrating backhand. And her hard bomb of a serve, too.
Hantuchova plays with a brazen aggression that is incredible to watch. It’s apparent that’s she’s got some growing to do, that she’s still growing into her game and the sport. But the talent that’s she’s already been able to yield and harness is incredible. She has wonderful instincts, solid form, and also seems to receive excellent coaching. With such crisp, penetrating
ground strokes, especially off the backhand side, there’s no telling what
she can achieve.
Beating Martina Hingis in her first career final to win her first career title has to be a huge confidence boost. The next time
Daniela matches up with say, Capriati or Venus Williams, one must wonder whether
she will play a bit more freely and take more positive risks, and whether Jennifer or Venus might play a bit more tightly, fearing Daniela will claim them as upset victims, too.
Next up for Hantuchova is the NASDAQ 100 in Miami. The draw is stacked with formidable competition; Jennifer, Venus, Martina,
Clijsters, Serena, Henin and Monica Seles. Daniela takes a week off after Miami and then heads to the clay courts of Amelia Island, where the competition will include Venus, Monica, Justine, and Amelie. After Amelia Island, Daniela will head to the clay courts of Charleston to compete with Jennifer, plus Monica, Justine, and Amelia again.
We’re not sure if clay is the surface that best suits Daniela’s game: hers seems to prefer quickly constructed points that reward power play. While it’d be nice to see Daniela do well at the French, we’re more eager to see her take it to the competition at Wimbledon, where her serve and wicked backhand should wreak havoc on the draw.
In short, we’re nearly giddy to see such a fresh, talented player make such an enormous impact so early in her career. Daniela Hantuchova clearly has the talent, and the focus, to remain a serious contender on the WTA tour. We hope she maintains the concentration and quality level of play to keep things exciting—and refreshingly
unpredictable—in women’s tennis in 2002.
Discuss Indian Wells on our
Discussion
Board
March 17, 2002
|
