New York: The first time Daniela Hantuchova reached the US Open quarter-finals she was a teenager. The second time she is 30.
The unseeded Slovak defeated American wildcard Alison Riske 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 on Monday to end an extended absence from the last eight at Flushing Meadows since her loss to Serena Williams in 2002 as a 19-year-old.
In a commendable if not spectacular career, Hantuchova has since reached the world No. 5 ranking, won the Fed Cup, secured the career grand slam in mixed doubles and made the semi-finals of the 2008 Australian Open. And now, having fallen to No. 48 in the world, Hantuchova is back where it all started.
“It means a lot to me because I love New York,” she said. “I could live here in one second. I just love the city, it’s got so much energy, atmosphere. It’s the last grand slam of the year and obviously you always want to finish on a high.
“The tournament is only starting now for me. It just means the world to me to again be in the quarter-finals.”
Hantuchova will meet either Belarus’ second-seeded Victoria Azarenka or 13th-seeded Ana Ivanovic of Serbia for a place in the semi-finals.
She said there was a simple reason why players over 30, including Serena Williams and Australian veteran Lleyton Hewitt, were faring well in the women’s and men’s events at Flushing Meadows.
“Just the love for the game,” she said.
“I love doing what I’m doing so much that I wouldn’t change it for anything else in the world. That’s the reason I’m here.
“I just appreciate everything a lot more. I appreciate being able to be a tennis player, to be healthy, doing what I’m doing. It’s a big privilege to be in this position, to be so lucky in my life.”
She saw the irony in being regarded as old in tennis but young in day-to-day life.
Meanwhile, nearly five hours of play was lost to rain on Monday, forcing tournament organisers to cancel dozens of matches and issue an revised playing schedule. Only one of the eight singles matches scheduled for Monday was completed before thunderstorms arrived just after midday.
A total of 37 matches, mostly doubles and juniors, were postponed until Tuesday. The only main draw singles match that was held over was the highly-anticipated centre court clash between world No. 2 Azarenka and Ivanovic.
Roger Federer’s fourth round match against Tommy Robredo was moved from the Arthur Ashe Stadium to Louis Armstrong Stadium, marking the first time he had played on the smaller court since 2006. Before the rain arrived, Roberta Vinci managed to beat her opponent and the foul weather in the nick of time to charge into the quarter-finals. Vinci needed just over an hour to defeat fellow Italian Camila Giorgi 6-4, 6-2 and reach the last eight at Flushing Meadows for the second year in a row.
