Daniela def. Maria Sanchez Lorenzo: 6-7, 6-3, 6-3

First round match and last on Centre Court, Daniela Hantuchova vs. Maria Sanchez Lorenzo.  Daniela was the obvious fan favorite and she needed to prove that she was/is still on the tour with a win today, at first Daniela started off sluggish – quickly falling behind 0-5, it looked like the set was going to be over, but it must have been the Slovak Squad supporting with cheers because Daniela quickly caught up and took Lorenzo to a tiebreaker.  Daniela had a lead of 3-1 in the TB but lost the next 6 points and set.  It might have been the fans again, or something else, because the next two sets were easy for Daniela, she took those sets and match: 6-7, 6-3, 6-3. 

Looking at the statistics, Daniela had 39 UEs and 59 winners, compared to Lorenzo’s 26 UEs and 30 winners.  Those are impressive numbers for Daniela to be at, the unforced errors can be lowered a bit but nevertheless the winners and points won (98) are a plus.  Daniela had only 3 aces and 5 double faults today, concluding that her serve still needs to be worked on, she went up to the net a total of 2 times and won the point every time.  It is quite obvious that Daniela is slowly regaining form again, and that is a pleasure to see. 

Daniela’s next round opponent will be Anna Pistolesi, head-to-head: 1-1.  Pistolesi is a good clay court player who will run down every ball that is sent her way, which will be tough for Daniela to close out the points.  Last match they played against each other was in 2002, a long time ago, things have changed and tomorrow’s match will definitely be harder for Daniela.  She needs to hit those flat hard balls, hit good serves and keep believing in herself… for sure the fans will be behind her once again J 

Good Luck Daniela!!!