DANIELA HANTUCHOVA, QUEEN OF PATTAYA
Daniela Hantuchova battled past an inspired WTA Rising Star to capture the PTT Thailand Open - her third title in four attempts at the picturesque WTA stop.
Published February 15, 2015 12:14

PATTAYA CITY, Thailand - A day after they spent a combined total of almost six hours to win their semifinal matches, Daniela Hantuchova and Ajla Tomljanovic had another battle on their hands in the final of the PTT Thailand Open - and it was experience that just edged out youth this time.

Tomljanovic, who won an all-WTA Rising Star showdown against Monica Puig the day before, came out stronger in the final, taking the first set in 32 minutes and looking safely in control up 6-3, 2-1.

But Hantuchova has been no stranger to battling back - she saved two match points to beat Marina Erakovic in the semis - and she found another second wind in the final, winning eight of the next nine games to take the second set, 6-3, and jump out to a 3-0 lead in the third and deciding set.

Tomljanovic got things back to 3-all, and then 4-all too, but Hantuchova made one last push right at the end, holding then breaking one last time to win in two hours and seven minutes, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

"Today was very tough because Ajla was playing some great tennis," Hantuchova said. "I had to really fight for it - at the end I felt maybe I was a little fresher and sharper, and that decided the match.

"But Ajla has a great future ahead of her. She's also a very nice girl. It's nice to have somebody like her in the game. And like I said on the court, I'm sure she'll have many more finals to come."

This is the third time Hantuchova has won the PTT Thailand Open, her first two titles here coming in 2011 and 2012. She has seven WTA titles overall now, including Indian Wells in 2002 and 2007.

"It means so much to me to win this tournament three times. I've never done that in my career and never thought I'd be able to," the former World No.5 said. "It's always a special feeling playing in Pattaya. I've felt great here since the first match, and I'm very proud I kept it up all week."

It was a breakthrough week for Tomljanovic regardless of the final result - she had never even been to a WTA semifinal before, let alone a WTA final. Things are really looking up for the 21-year-old.

"There are too many positives from the week. I'm going to try not to dwell on this too much," she said. "I'll just try to learn from it. There are things I can learn from this match and the week.

"Overall I think this was a really big step forward for me in Pattaya."





This is the second time that Daniela's beaten a Croat in a final as she beat a Croat in Birmingham. It seems that the nationality of her final opponents come in twos as she's beaten two Swiss (Hingis & Schnyder), two Russians (Kuznetsova & Kirilenko) and now two Croats (Vekic & Tomljanovic) in finals. It's also the second time Daniela saved match points in the semi-final of a tournament she's gone on to win.

I think the coach who has travelled (South African guy) with Daniela has also been a fantastic influence and help. (I forget his name) He deserves a lot of credit.

Anyone knows the names?

The full name is Kate Mahony and she's a physiotherapist. Here's some more information on her: