World No.20 Daniela Hantuchova has retained her perfect record at the PTT Pataya Open in Thailand by beating Maria Kirilenko 6-7(4) 6-3 6-3 in the final to win back-to-back titles at the tournament. Kirilenko sweated her way to the final, with more than nine and a half hours on court, and even though the following fact won’t be remembered for long, Kirilenko was the first to take a set off Hantuchova in the Slovak’s second participation in the event.
En route to her fifth career title and first since last year’s Pattaya, the third-seeded Hantuchova defeated Nungnadda Wannasuk 6-2 6-0, Urszula Radwanska 6-3 6-2, seed No.8 Vania King 7-6(7) 6-4, Su-Wei Hsieh 6-4 6-1 and finally the fourth-seeded Kirilenko. Top seed at the tournament, Vera Zvonareva, had to retire in the quarterfinals because of a left hip injury. (photo: Ralf Reinecke)
amazing that hanti has been around this long and only has 5 titles
I admire Daniela for her spirit. She’s always referred to as the hardest working woman on the tour – on and off the court. Yes, she’s an underachiever, but she’s as fit as any of the players on tour. Here’s hoping for another five-year anniversary title at Indian Wells this March.
Was it not for her fragile nerves she would have won a lot more. Anyway, a great victory. 🙂