Rough translation of the latest interview with Albert Portas.


What caused that Cornet won?
AP: It turned around in the 2nd set, when several lucky shots of the Frenchwoman meant break of Daniela's serve and instead of 2:0 or 2:1 for Daniela the score was 1:2, it put Daniela out of countenance a bit. In the 1st set she followed the gameplan, but then started to make errors and went for too much on her fh side.

Not long ago you retired as a player. How different is working with women?
AP: They need a lot of support, confidence and valuable suggestions. Female mentality is a bit different, but don‘t think that there are no big turnarounds in men‘s tennis.

After this tournament Daniela will fall somewhere around top 30. Once she already managed to climb the rankings to enter the top 10. But it was very difficult. Can she do it again?
AP: She has it in her, we cannot forget that last year after very good start she was sidelined with injury. I admire how faithfully does she train and wants to get back into form.

Since November 2007 she hasn‘t beaten any higher ranked player. Why?
AP: Women‘s tennis is more and more competitive. Players in the top 20 are very tough to beat.

But last year Daniela beat players like Radwanska or Cornet, this year in Australia she lost to them and both are ahead of her in the rankings. Is it difficult for her to catch up with this new generation of players?
AP: She can be competitive, but needs wins. Good wins over good players to find confidence again. Here comes my role as a coach to support her, share my experience with her and work on her weaknesses.

During off-season you were in Florida where you worked with renown fitness coach Pat Etcheberry who cooperated with such names as Sampras, Agassi, Seles or Hingis. What were you focused on?
AP: Footwork. Pat is an expert but it was only a month and that‘s not enough. I noticed that against Cornet Daniela wasn‘t bending her knees sufficiently. But we will continue working on it.

Thanks for the interview, martin.

Thanks for the interview Martin! It does sound in promising way. Anyway, he did not say anything unknown here. That's what she seems to face with. Lack of confidence is the main reason of her losses I think. She's working on it so I hope to see some effects soon:) Actually, there were some in her doubles:P

Post Australian Open interview with Daniela from slovak press.


How it felt to be under fire of the Williamses?
DH: It wasn‘t any fire today. The final result doesn‘t reflect how tight the games were, we had many chances, both on serve and return. We broke them thrice, which doesn‘t happen to them regulalry and we could break more often.

Serena was better today than Venus. Surely her success in singles helped her.
DH: We were surprised that Venus didn‘t show anything special. I think that given how she played we could have been more courageous, because frankly we played with a bit of fear. Serena was the more clever player out of the two.

Sugiyama lost all her service games. Why?
DH: That probably was the biggest difference. The serve. The Williamses were hitting bomb serves as they do in singles, Sugi‘s serve isn‘t our weakness, but against such opponents she needs to be more aggressive. Today I felt equal, perhaps even quicker in crosscourt rallies against the Americans, but Sugi seemed a bit intimidated, she compensated for it at the net.

You got a plushy wombat, not a kangoroo. Do you know something about wombats?
DH: No to tell the truth, I was disappointed it wasn‘t a kangoroo, but Sugi soothed me that even wombat is a beautiful Australian animal. I named mine Sugi, and she her own Dani, so at least I have a friend for the kangoroos from past years.

How is it that your best results usually come here in Melbourne?
DH: Because I always come prepared well, I never underestimate preparations and thoroughly perform all my exercises. And I play well in warm conditions. There are great fans in Australia, I always feel like home. Even the surface suits me well, especially in the big arenas. It‘s the best time of the year for me, I feel fresh and full of energy after off-season. I am looking forward to be here next year.

You are flying home at Fed Cup. What do you know about the Belgians?
DH: I haven‘t been thinking about it yet. First I wanna have a bit of rest after the tournament.

i found the rumour




please tell me it's not true

This guy is 1,71 m. They will look funny.

Like the rumor some years before. She should date a guy from a british boyband "Boysterous" or so. He was as short as this one.

And two week ago she should hold hands with her coach, according to someone on the CP.

lol. i think daniela and portas would make a really cute couple.