Hantuchova is back among the heavy-hitters
Los Angeles:
A year ago Daniela Hantuchova watched her weight so much she jeopardised her
tennis career. Salads. Vegetables. Low-fat foods.
Nearly 182 centimetres tall and listed in the WTA media guide at 56 kilograms,
the 21-year-old from Slovakia was criticised as being waifish, wiry and gaunt.
Rumours swirled that she had an eating disorder.
What was plain for anyone to see was that Hantuchova was the thinnest she'd
ever been during the 2003 campaign.
Her bones were visible through her white tennis dresses. Her picture was posted
online underneath a caption that said: "Courting Danger?"
"I knew there was something I needed to change," Hantuchova said on Tuesday
after her 6-2, 6-4 win over Cara Black in the first round of the JPMorgan Chase
Open in Carson. "I knew it was not possible to keep going like this."
Hantuchova stole the day from seeded players Elena Dementieva and Venus
Williams - both of whom advanced in straight sets - when she stepped on court
looking a healthy 61kg and fit.
Hantuchova changed her diet and her routine, and so far this year her story is
a happy one. She's 8-3 since the French Open and the first-round victory here
sent her over the 50 per cent mark for career wins.
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She lost to eventual champion Maria Sharapova in the third round at Wimbledon
but had reached the finals at Eastbourne the week before.
"I feel so much stronger," Hantuchova said. "I feel I've really got a lot of
power on my shots and I feel much faster on the court as well."
Last season she finished just inside the top 20 (No.19) and failed to reach the
final of any event.
"Last year I was trying to hit it hard and it wasn't going anywhere,"
Hantuchova said.
Though her ranking continued to dip at the start of this year - she is No.35
and unseeded this week - Hantuchova is returning to the form that made her one
of the tour's darlings.
"I'm feeling strong and knowing if I hit shots the right way it's hard to beat
me," she said.
She has varied her diet as well. "I'm really enjoying myself. I'm eating the
things I want," said Hantuchova, who next plays No.10 Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi.
In Tuesday's main night match, Williams wasted little time dispatching Ashley
Harkleroad, 6-2, 6-1. The No.2 seed needed just 47 minutes for the victory,
which came on the heels of a loss in the Bank of the West final in Stanford on
Sunday.
Williams had trailed 2-0 in the first set but gave Harkleroad just one more
game thereafter.
"I had a real slow start," Williams said. "I was actually feeling tired.
Somehow I got a second wind after that second game."
Dementieva, the No.4 seed, had little trouble against US qualifier Lilia
Osterloh, advancing with a 6-4, 6-2 victory.
The French Open finalist struggled with her serve in her first tournament on
the hardcourt surface.
"I need a couple of good days to feel my best here," Dementieva said.
韓娃已增重到61公斤囉....
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