page_title: Daniela Hantuchová
section_title: 2011: Fifth WTA title
hierarchical_section_title: Daniela Hantuchová / Career / 2011: Fifth WTA title
caption_attribution_description: Daniela Hantuchova Mercury Insurance Tennis Open 2011
context_page_description: Daniela Hantuchová is a retired Slovak tennis player and commentator. She turned professional in 1999 and had her breakthrough year in 2002, when she won her first WTA tournament, the Indian Wells Masters, defeating Martina Hingis in the final and becoming the lowest-ranked player to ever win the tournament. She also reached the quarterfinals of that year's Wimbledon Championships and US Open, ending the year in the top ten. She was part of the Slovak team that won the 2002 Fed Cup and the 2005 Hopman Cup.
  Hantuchová reached her highest ranking of world No. 5 in January 2003, after playing the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. She has won seven WTA tournaments, including the Indian Wells Masters for a second time in 2007, with the 2015 Thailand Open being her last victory. She also reached the semifinals of the Australian Open in 2008, her best result in a Grand Slam tournament. Her biggest career wins include victories over defending champion Serena Williams in the third round of the 2006 Australian Open and world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in the third round of the 2011 French Open.
context_section_description: Hantuchová withdrew from her first tournament of the year at the Brisbane International due to a left Achilles strain. She competed next at the Medibank International Sydney, but suffered a loss to María José Martínez Sánchez in the first round, 2–6, 4–6. At the Australian Open, she was the 28th seed, but lost in the first round to Regina Kulikova in three sets, 5–7, 6–3, 7–9. This is the first time Hantuchová had lost in the first round of the Australian Open, except her first appearance.
  She then played at the PTT Pattaya Open, where she defeated Kurumi Nara, Kimiko Date-Krumm, and Akgul Amanmuradova, all in straight sets to reach the semifinals. There she upset top seed, world No. 3 and defending champion Vera Zvonareva, 7–6, 6–4. Hantuchová then won her first title in more than three years by defeating Sara Errani, 6–0, 6–2, in the final. Despite this, she fell to Anna Chakvetadze in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships the following week. However, she rebounded at the Qatar Ladies Open by upsetting sixth seed Victoria Azarenka in the first round, 4–6, 6–1, 6–2, but fell in the quarterfinals to second seed and eventual champion Vera Zvonareva, 7–5, 6–7, 7–5, despite serving for the match at 5–4 in the final set.
  At the BNP Paribas Open and the Sony Ericsson Open, Hantuchová lost in the early rounds to Dinara Safina and top seed Caroline Wozniacki, respectively. Partnering Agnieszka Radwańska, she reached the semifinals in Indian Wells, falling to the eventual champions, but won the doubles title in Miami, defeating Nadia Petrova and Liezel Huber.
  On clay, Hantuchová was upset in the third round of the Family Circle Cup in Charleston by Christina McHale. Hantuchová next competed on European red clay at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, the Madrid Open and the Italian Open. She fell in the early rounds of all three to Samantha Stosur in both Stuttgart and Madrid and to second seed Francesca Schiavone in Rome. However, Hantuchová rebounded at the Internationaux de Strasbourg, where she upset fourth seed Nadia Petrova in the quarterfinals, but fell to second seed Andrea Petkovic in the semifinals, 4–6, 6–3, 4–6. Seeded 28th at the French Open, Hantuchová defeated Zhang Shuai and Sara Errani in the first two rounds, both in straight sets. She then upset top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki, 6–1, 6–3 for her first win over a reigning world No. 1. However, Hantuchová fell to 13th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the fourth round, 7–6, 3–6, 2–6.
  Hantuchová reached her second career grass-court final at the Aegon Classic in Birmingham, England, upsetting second seed Ana Ivanovic in the semifinals, 6–7, 6–3, 6–2, before falling to unseeded Sabine Lisicki, 3–6, 2–6. Competing at the Aegon International in Eastbourne, Hantuchová defeated second seed Li Na and Venus Williams, before retiring to fifth seed Petra Kvitová in the semifinals. Seeded 25th at the Wimbledon, Hantuchová fell to fourth seed Victoria Azarenka in the third round, 3–6, 6–3, 2–6.
  Hantuchová fell in the early rounds of both the Bank of the West Classic and the Rogers Cup in Toronto. She reached her sixth and seventh quarterfinals of the season at the Mercury Insurance Open in Carlsbad and at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, but fell to third seed Agnieszka Radwańska and second seed Vera Zvonareva, respectively. After a first-round loss at the US Open to Pauline Parmentier, Hantuchová reached the quarterfinals of the Bell Challenge and the Generali Ladies Linz losing to Marina Erakovic and top seed Petra Kvitová respectively. Hantuchová finished the year at world No. 24 with a win loss record of 41–29. She went 5–11 against the top ten with victories over Zvonareva, Azarenka, Wozniacki, Li Na, and Bartoli.
caption: Hantuchová at the Southern California Open in 2011
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