A sense of deja vu hovered over Indian Wells as Daniela Hantuchova closed in on victory over
Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final of the 2007 Pacific Life Open. The 23-year-old Slovak has only
one other singles title to her name and that one also came at Indian Wells five years ago. "This is even
sweeter, just the feeling of being able to win the same tournament," she said. "I know people have been
saying that I haven't won a tournament since 2002, but if I had a choice I would much rather pick this
one than some little tournament. I was just so confident from the first point and I didn't really think
about the score. I had exactly the same feeling like I had against Martina (Hingis) in 2002. Not for
one second did I not believe in myself."
Accurate groundstrokes and judicious forays to the net helped Hantuchova dominate the rallies against
Kuznetsova and she fully earned the right to join an impressive list of players who have won the Tier I
tournament twice - Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Mary Joe Fernandez, Lindsay Davenport, Serena
Williams and Kim Clijsters. "I think all the best things in life are worth waiting for - moments like
this," she said. "I guess all the hard work and everything I had to go through makes the victory that
much sweeter."
Indian Wells was the Slovak's breakthrough title in 2002, a year in which she reached at least the
semi-finals of six events (all Tier I and Tier II). She also reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon
and the US Open (losing to Serena Williams both times) and led the Slovak team to their maiden Fed Cup
victory that year. In 2003, she reached the last eight at the Australian Open but suffered a public
breakdown during her match with Shinobu Asagoe in the second round of Wimbledon. She was spotted crying
well before the end of the match and lost 10-12 in the final set, clearly in emotional turmoil. The media
picked up on her weight loss and declining form for the remainder of an unhappy year for her.
Hantuchova trained at the Bollettieri Academy during her teenage years. When she started out on the WTA
Tour, Britain's Nigel Sears took up the reins as her coach, but she now works with coaches attached to
the Sanchez-Casal Academy. Her WTA Tour mentor in the Partners for Success program was Martina Navratilova,
who was also her doubles partner for a brief period in 2005. She has enjoyed considerable success in mixed
doubles, including four Grand Slam titles. Her many fans will hope that a second taste of success at
Indian Wells will kick start a singles career that has been dogged by inconsistency and underachievement.
One of the smartest players on the Tour, Hantuchova qualified for university in Slovakia but deferred
it to pursue her career in tennis. She speaks Slovak, English and German and is learning Spanish. She
studied classical piano as a young girl. Her father, Igor, is a computer scientist and her mother,
Marianna, is a toxicologist. Her interests include skiing, ice skating, roller blading, swimming, jet
skiing and cooking.
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