I don't know who creates the crawl in the upper right corner that has Daniela's results/upcoming 1st opponent. Whomever it is, my thanks to that person. For the last 3 days it has said "Charleston 1R: Daniela ve Shelby Rogers(USA)". That error (ve rather than vs) has proven to be the biggest jinx breaker perhaps in the history of the Forum! Keep doing it!
Here are a few words of wisdom from the March 29 edition of the Charleston Post and Courier from writer James Beck.
"Brian Minton sees 12th seed Daniela Hantuchova as a good first-round opponent for his former pupil (Rogers). Hantuchova is tall and lanky and not particularly a great clay-court player. In short, Hantuchova has had an up-and-down career marked by inconsistencies in her game. As far as facing Hantuchova in the opening round, (Rogers) said 'I'm OK with the draw. I've never played or practiced with her....She hits a hard, flat ball that I think is better suited for hard courts. I'll just try to get her out of her rhythm.' Hantuchova was a first-round loser last year on Daniel Island."
Do you get the sense that they thought Daniela was an easy mark for their hometown girl? Now I know none of us were about to bet the mortgage on Dani winning today. But in the end, it appears that Mr. Ross, Mr. Minton and to some extent Ms. Rogers have all come out as April Fools!
That's OK. Maybe, just maybe, he's sure what to do at all other times with Daniela and is beginning to help her be the top flight player she still wants to be.
