In 24 Hours Hantuchova Plays Two Matches 3000 Miles Apart. . . And Wins Both!
Daniela Hantuchova demonstrated what resilient powers of the human body possesses to overcome the sufferings of jetlag by scoring two victories in the space of little more than 24 hours apart that happened to be situated in excess of 3,000 miles in distance from each other.
The 31 year-old Slovak veteran maintained she had no more than one hour of far from deep sleep in between winning her seventh WTA title by beating Ajla Tomljanovic in the final of the PTT Thailand Open in Pattaya City and then winning her first round in the Dubai Duty Free Championships against Germany’s Mona Barthel.
To say Hantuchova’s schedule was hectic is an understatement. After beating Tomljanovic 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 she hurriedly returned to her hotel room and packed before being driven two hours across Thailand to Bangkok airport. Then she checked in on the six and a half hour flight to Dubai and although she flew first class, she was unable to take advantage of a more comfortable seat.
“I’m a horrible sleeper on the plane,” maintained Hantuchova who, by virtue of her Pattaya win went back up to 47 on the WTA rankings. “I never really sleep and maybe dozed for something like 30 minutes.”
After arriving in the United Arab Emirates, Hantuchova checked into her Dubai hotel at 5.30am and continued: “Then I tried to sleep but nothing. So I had breakfast. Went to the gym and a few minutes on the bike just to move my body a little bit. Then had a warm up, some treatments, and I don’t know how I’m still awake.”
Taking the match court again at 7.30pm Dubai time and overcoming a four hours’ time difference with Thailand, Hantuchova fought for two hours and 39 minutes before celebrating a 7-6,3-6,6-3 win over Germany’s 39th ranked Mona Barthel.
“I think it’s just the heart,” said Hantuchova, a ten year veteran of the Dubai event who because of her long service was awarded a wild card into the main draw. “This is what I work for, and this is where the love for the sport comes in. Yes, I’m tired, but it’s the best feeling in the world.”
However Hantuchova was slightly amiss as to why semi-finalist in the BNP Paribas Fortis Diamond Games in Antwerp were awarded a first round bye in Dubai as of right but she, as Pattaya’s title winner, was forced to play again so quickly.
“I didn’t deserve what they call a performance bye,” she said. “ I don’t really think it’s fair because we are both playing the same amount of matches. I know Pattaya is a smaller tournament, but still the travel and everything is just the same. But I’m not going to complain.”
Story via Bob Larson tennis news.
Topics: Daniela Hantuchova, Dubai, Tennis, Thailand Open, Wta
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RT @10sBalls_com: -@dhantuchova TRAVELS AROUND THE WORLD TO WIN A TOURNEY AND PLAY A FIRST ROUND- http://t.co/b5YGV4ISNe #tennis #WTA #duba…
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