Dementieva defeats Hantuchova at Australian Open.

Throughout the match Daniela Hantuchova displays that her tennis skills and technique are of a high quality. Elena Dementieva shows that it takes a little more then just skills and technique to win a match.

The 6th seed from Moscow relies on quickness and accuracy to compensate for her weak serve. “I don’t have any problems with my service” Dementieva once said, “I am just to nervous to get the first service in, there is no problem serving in practice.”

In today’s match Dementieva still has a better first serve, 67%, than her opponent Hantuchova who had 65%. In the first set it looks like Hantuchova found her strategy against Dementieva. She starts to attack the Russians second service hitting return winners. At 15-40 Dementieva fights back and holds on to her game and prevents Hantuchova from taking a 2-0 lead.

Before the match Hantuchova said about Dementieva: “She had a good year and these are the matches I play for, she is under pressure”. Putting herself into the underdog position she tries to take the pressure off from herself and starts out very well against Dementieva.

In the 6th game Daniela Hantuchova keeps up her strategy and attacks Dementieva’s weak second service breaking the Russian who fails to hit a first service in and hits a double fault on breakpoint.

Dementieva works on a rebreak and Hantuchova builds up her unforced error quota. Too eager to win the points the Slovakian is not waiting for the right moments to score, trying to hit winners she hits the balls wide, long and into the net. Dementieva breaks back with a forehand winner for 4-3.

More unforced errors from the 31st ranked Slovakian give Dementieva the chance for a break. After fighting off a few breakpoints Hantuchova is making the wrong decision again. Dementieva attacks a stopvolley, wins the point and she breaks for 6-5.

After getting some treatment when Hantuchova grazed her knee she misses a good opportunity for the break on Dementieva’s service game. She miss-hits a volley at the net and Dementieva takes the opportunity to take the first set 7-5 after 60 minutes.

Hantuchova’s 36 unforced errors show the difference between the two players in the first set. Too many bad mistakes and wrong choices secure a first set win for Dementieva.

In the second set both players have trouble holding on to their service game. Dementieva is facing 2nd serve return winners and Hantuchova is still making too many unforced errors in her quest for winners too early in the rally. The players are breaking each other’s service game back and forth. In the 11th game Hantuchova wins her game on love for a 6-5 lead. She is holding two set points and wins the second set with a solid forehand winner. This 53 minutes lasting set she was able to keep her unforced error rate at 17.

Before the third set begins Dementieva gets off from the court to change her shirt and shorts from black to red and her attitude from mild to aggressive. The last alteration gives Dementieva a break in Hantuchova’s first service game and the 6th ranked Russian leads 2-0 after holding her own service game.

In the 5th game Elena Dementieva leads 0-40 hitting winners and an unforced error from the Slovakian. Dementieva lures Hantuchova courtside hitting a ball crosscourt, waiting for the return she hits a solid winner into the empty space and breaks for a 4-1 lead.

Hantuchova breaks back for 4-2 when Dementieva hits a double fault at advantage. Both players hold on to their service and at 5-4 Dementieva is serving for the match.

Again Hantuchova is making too many unforced errors, a total of 78 against 40 for Dementieva. The Slovakian hits a ball long for 15-0 and a ball wide for 30-0. Dementieva hits a double fault for 30-15 and a backhand winner for 40-15. On her first matchpoint Dementieva hits a winning forehand taking the match after 163 minutes of play. With attacking Dementieva’s second serves Hantuchova scores 39 winners against 23 for the Russian. Both players are only 2 points apart in their ‘Total Points Won’, 121 against 123 for the winner.

Singles - Third Round
(3) Anastasia Myskina (RUS) d. (25) Lisa Raymond (USA) w/o (left abdominal muscle tear)
(13) Karolina Sprem (CRO) d. (18) Elena Likhovtseva (RUS) 64 63
(1) Lindsay Davenport (USA) d. Nicole Vaidisova (CZE) 62 64
(8) Venus Williams (USA) d. (27) Anna Smashnova (ISR) 63 60
(19) Nathalie Dechy (FRA) d. (14) Francesca Schiavone (ITA) 63 63
(10) Alicia Molik (AUS) d. Tatiana Panova (RUS) 63 62
(12) Patty Schnyder (SUI) d. Abigail Spears (USA) 76(4) 63
(6) Elena Dementieva (RUS) d. (26) Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) 75 57 64

Doubles - Second Round
(10) T.Li/Sun (CHN/CHN) d. Chladkova/Kurhajcova (CZE/SVK) 36 60 63
Russell/Santangelo (USA/ITA) d. Beygelzimer/Senoglu (UKR/TUR) 63 67(4) 63
Medina Garrigues/Safina (ESP/RUS) d. (11) Dulko/Vento-Kabchi (ARG/VEN) 61 67(6) 64
(14) Asagoe/Srebotnik (JPN/SLO) d. Dragomir Ilie/Drake (ROM/CAN) 64 36 75
Birnerova/Vanc (CZE/ROM) d. (2) Black/Huber (ZIM/RSA) 67(6) 75 63