Hantuchova struggles to overcome qualifier

Published on Wednesday 10 September 2008 23:39

TOP seed Daniela Hantuchova struggled to overcome Ukrainian qualifier Olga Savchuk 6-1, 7-5 to reach the quarter-finals of the Bali Classic yesterday.

The Slovak dominated the first set, breaking her opponent to love in the opening game and using her powerful forehand to produce a succession of outright winners or force errors from her harried opponent. Savchuk's first-set misery was compounded when she dropped the clinching game on a foot-fault.

But after surrendering just three points on serve in the first set, Hantuchova failed to carry her momentum into the second. She had to fight off two break points to hold for 1-0 and another two before holding the seventh game.

Savchuk, ranked 121, then broke to lead 5-4, but failed to capitalise on her opportunity when she hit a volley long after the ball had stood up perfectly for her to strike a winner. Encouraged by that reprieve, Hantuchova then broke again for the match with a fine crosscourt winner.

"She was more aggressive on her service games in the second set and was tough to break," said Hantuchova. "It was a good test for me and I felt like I handled the big points pretty well."

Second seed Patty Schnyder was also tested in the second set by China's Meng Yuan before winning 6-2, 7-5. The Swiss left-hander was threatened briefly when Yuan broke to lead 2-1, but Schnyder immediately recovered the break when Yuan struck a double-fault. After failing to serve out the match at 5-3 play was interrupted by rain as Schnyder held match point on Yuan's serve at 6-5. When play resumed, Schnyder closed out the match on her third match point.

In other matches, fifth-seeded Italian Francesca Schiavone beat Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan 6-3, 6-2, and Poland's Marta Domachowska overcame American Jill Craybas 6-3, 6-7, 6-4.