The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Sania loses to Hantuchova

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jan 10, 2006

Sport

Sport - Tennis

Sania loses to Hantuchova

SYDNEY: Sania Mirza stretched World No. 17 Daniela Hantuchova before running out of steam to lose in the first round of the Sydney International here on Monday. Hantuchova beat Sania 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 and will take on third seed Patty Schnyder in the second round of the Tier-II event.

Handed a tough draw which pitted her against a higher ranked player in the first round, World No. 34 Sania was not ready to give up but Hantuchova maintained her composure to claim the first set.

Sania was at her best in the second, as she served well and her trademark power-packed forehand had Hantuchova in a spot of bother. The Indian conceded just two games before clinching the set and taking the match to a decider. Sania disappointed in the third set and struggled for rhythm, and suddenly started spraying her returns wide. "I think I have recovered sufficiently from the back problem as I had no problems with it," Sania said. She felt that she was finding her match rhythm after a tough three-week work-out with Tony Roche in Sydney during the winter break.

``It will take me a few months in match pressure situations before I expect to be confident with what I am trying to execute. But for a start — pretty good,'' Sania said about her training under Roche.

Packing a punch

Earlier, Justine Henin-Hardenne beat Martina Hingis 6-3, 6-3, giving the former No. 1 player a dose of reality on her comeback.

Henin-Hardenne, the French Open champion who had not played since October because of a right hamstring strain, packed too much power for Hingis.

Hingis was downcast about the loss at a post-match news conference, but was upbeat about where she stands in her comeback and how it sets her up for the upcoming Australian Open.

``I chose to come (to Sydney) to know where I'm at,'' said Hingis. ``I know what I'm aiming for now. It's good to know how I played, how the match went — she was at a different level today.''

The results (first round): At Sydney (Medibank International Open): Men: Lleyton Hewitt bt Vince Spadea 2-6, 7-5, 6-3; Jurgen Mezler bt Juan Ignacio Chela 6-2, 7-6(1); Agustin Calleri bt Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4, 6-3; Chris Guccione bt Juan Carlos Ferrero 4-6, 6-3, 7-5; Ivo Karlovic bt Victor Hanescu 7-6(7), 3-6, 6-3; James Blake bt Davide Sanguinetti 7-6(4), 6-4; Arnaud Clement bt Taylor Dent 6-1, 2-6, 6-2.

Women: Daniela Hantuchova bt Sania Mirza 6-4, 2-6, 6-2; Zi Yan bt Anna Chakvetadze 6-3, 6-3; Dinara Safina bt Anna-Lena Groenefeld 6-2, 6-1; Vera Douchevina bt Vera Zvonareva 6-4, 3-6, 6-1; Yuliana Fedak bt Elena Likhovtseva 6-4, 3-6, 6-3; Justine Henin-Hardenne bt Martina Hingis 6-3, 6-3; Francesca Schiavone bt Ai Sugiyama 6-1, 6-2; Li Na bt Flavia Pennetta 6-4, 6-1; Nicole Vaidisova bt Samantha Stosur 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.

At Auckland (ATP Heineken Open): Mario Ancic bt Mark Nielsen 6-1, 6-2; Florian Mayer bt Dan King-Turner 6-2, 6-2; Andy Murray bt Kenneth Carlsen 7-5, 6-2; Robin Vik bt Feliciano Lopez 7-6(6), 6-1; Stanislas Wawrinka bt Tomas Zib 6-3, 6-4.

At Canberra (WTA Canberra International): Tatiana Poutchek bt Sophie Ferguson 6-0, 6-2; Aiko Nakamura bt Eva Hrdinova 6-2, 6-2; Virginie Razzano bt Viktoriya Kutuzova 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-1; Catalina Castano bt Sybille Bammer 6-0, 7-5; Anabel Medina Garrigues bt Emmanuelle Gagliardi 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-1; Anastassia Rodionova bt Marta Domachowska 6-4, 6-0; Emma Laine bt Tszvetana Pironkova 6-0, 6-4; Eleni Daniilidou bt Meghann Shaughnessy 6-3, 6-3; Yvonne Meusburger bt Shayna McDowell 6-3, 6-1.

At Hobart (WTA Hobart International): Anne Kremer bt Klara Koukalova 6-4, 2-6, 6-2; Jelena Kostanic bt Martina Sucha 6-4, 6-0; Laura Granville bt Anna Smashnova 6-2, 6-3; Alona Bondarenko bt Evgenia Linetskaya 6-1, 3-6, 6-2; Severine Bremond bt Christina Wheeler 6-2, 6-4; Kristina Brandi bt Arantxa Parra Santonja 6-2, 6-2; Mashona Washington bt Emilie Loit 6-3, 6-3; Mara Santangelo bt Olga Poutchkova 7-5, 7-5; Casey Dellacqua bt Aleksandra Wozniak 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. — Agencies

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport