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11 March 2012 Maria Sharapova vs Danielle Hantuchova

Page history last edited by Archer844 12 years ago

Daniela Hantuchova 02.jpg

Posted by Vassago on 3/11/2012, 1:31 pm

Venue: Indian Wells Tennis Gardens.
Location: Indian Wells, Riverside County, California.

Background:
Daniela Hantuchova is the two-time Indian Wells WTA champion (2002, 2007) while Maria Sharapova won this most prestiguous event outside of Grand Slams in 2006. These two met in the quarterfinals of the 2008 edition where the US-based Sharapova prevailed and famously shouted at Hantuchova at one point in the match "This is my home!" fuelling some bitter comments from the tennis fans. Both women later featured in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition, underlining their status among the glamour athletes worldwide.

Four years on and the two tennis stars enter the ring to settle their feud during the latest edition of Indian Wells event. Sharapova outlasted Jelena Jankovic in Cincinnati before getting knocked out by Lindsey Vonn last year while Hantuchova defeated Ana Ivanovic on points in December in her maiden boxing fight. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the welterweight division.

Maria Sharapova wearing a white & red bikini and black gloves. Daniela Hantuchova wearing a green bikini and black gloves.

Round 1:
Hantuchova circles around the ropes, waiting for the Russian's attack and Sharapova pounces on the opportunity, throws a couple of jabs to the midsection before swinging a hook towards her face. Daniela covers up well and counters with low jabs in the ribcage as both girls quickly close the distance and rip into each other with nasty jabs to the body. Neither of them gains significant upperhand and Maria jumps away as Daniela remains in her spot. Sharapova circles around her, fakes a couple of punches and leaps forward, but that was half-hearted attempt and the Slovak tames those efforts with more jabs to the chest. She finally comes forward, forcing the Russian to retreat, but only grazes her with chaotic slaps as Sharapova responds with single low hooks to the ribcage. Hantuchova takes them with a quiet squeak and backs away, but the Russian's following charge is interrupted by the bell after couple of weak shots to the body.

Round 2:
Sharapova steps in, throws low hooks to the ribcage, but Hantuchova opens up and lands a big hook around the Russian's gloves, catching her in the ear! Maria drives low in response, ignores that strike, and unloads some of her own, peppering Daniela's stomach and landing a half-uppercut on the chin. Hantuchova bravely holds firm, covers up and looks to land more shots to the face, but the Russian weaves around her and nails her in the chest with a stiff jab. That finally wobbles the Slovak who leaps towards the ropes, but Maria's right after her, firing from both flanks, landing several clean shots on the midsection and forcing Daniela to bend down and wince in pain. Furious slaps from Sharapova who looks to stamp her authority, buries her rival under a barrage of punches and Hantuchova struggles on her feet, wobbles after a cross-hooking combo cut through her guard and Maria lands straight-forward jabs on the mouth and the Slovak's moans are getting louder. She leans on the ropes, tries to sidestep away, but Sharapova keeps her pinned in precarious position, laying serious leather all over her body. Hantuchova's misery is finally cut short by the bell as Maria throws her a deathstare as they walk back to their corners.

Round 3:
Maria looks to keep up the momentum going, jumps straight to her rival with a jabbing sequence to the stomach, but Daniela's well aware of her issues and counters immediately, trying to tame the menacing Russian with a solid hook to the face. That skims off the top Maria's shoulder though and Sharapova regains the command with a nasty gutwrencher that bends the Slovak down amid more painful squeaks. Maria pours in with more low jabs, but Hantuchova wraps her arms around her waist, driving forward and headbutting her in the breasts! Maria almost stumbles backwards as the ref rushes in to separate the girls and Sharapova scoffs in anger, visibly upset over her opponent's dubious tactics. Daniela jumps towards the ropes, using the break into her advantage as Sharapova has to start from the scratch with her attack, but she doesn't hold back and closes in on her in no time before firing more low jabs to the stomach and unleashing a nasty hook to the mouth. Daniela's gloves stay in tact though and she blocks most of Maria's punches, finally managing to clinch as the Russian missed another low jab to the guts and couldn't step back quickly enough. Daniela whacks her in the clinch with some nasty jabs to the ribcage as Sharapova barks in anger, trying to shove the Slovak away. Hantuchova leans on her and backs against the ropes in a hectic struggle but the stalemate ends soon afterwards as the bell sounds and brings the third round to a close.

Round 4:
Russian blonde keeps her foot on the gas, closes the distance immediately after the bell and throws a jabbing sequence to the stomach, followed by a crisp uppercut that grazes the Slovak's chin. Hantuchova leaps back, but throws a big hook herself just as Sharapova was reaching towards her. Right on the nose!!! Maria wobbles heavily and Daniela nails her in the ribcage with solid jabs before working on the face again with single hooks. Sharapova covers up, weaves around but allows her rival to score unanswered shots. Not much power behind them though albeit Daniela catches a break as Maria's forced to jump back to the ropes, struggling to cope with this onslaught. Hantuchova fails to chase her down, enables the Russian to circle around and shrug off the effects of this exchange and the Russian abandons her attacking approach for most of the round, just leaps back and forth, fakes some weak jabs. Daniela's more lively across the ring, looks like she's finally caught her foe's attention, but she resists a truly offensive bite and in the dying seconds, Maria nails her in the ribcage again with a solid jabbing combo before stepping away.

Round 5:
That was a brief moment of easing back for the Russian towards the end of the fourth and she's back with her game plan quickly in the fifth, lacing Hantuchova in the chest straight off the bell but missing a heavy hook to the face. Maria almost stumbles forwards as she went behind that one and Daniela whacks her in the chin in a fine response. She follows up with a crisp jab to the ribs, but the Russian's momentum allows her to clinch as she was falling forward for good after that shot to the jaw! Hantuchova's surprised with this occurance, allows Sharapova to wrestle her towards the ropes and tries to shove her back, but Maria leans her head on her shoulder and shows no signs of letting off! Ref steps in but has trouble with pushing Maria away, even Daniela's angry now and shouts at her rival. Finally Sharapova jumps away, back to square one and Hantuchova steps in, jabbing ferociously to the midsection, finally looking to take the momentum away from her rival. Maria leaps back, her face's slightly bruised now and equally reddened as Daniela's but chaotic-lokking leaps from the Slovak are fruitless as Maria's quicker on her feet and moves away from striking zone. Hantuchova still throws single jabs, but wastes more of her energy, barely grazing the fast-moving Russian. Late in the round, Sharapova answers back with a double hooking combination and nearly wipes out Hantuchova's mouth as the Slovak dropped her gloves over-confidently. Close call there, but Maria didn't jump after her shots and allowed the Slovakian blonde to jump back to the ropes herself. At half-distance Sharapova's the aggressor, but Hantuchova holds her own and still looks dangerous enough to cause an upset.

Round 6:
Both girls seem happy to catch a breather at the start of the sixth. Sharapova's likely to be the more upset of the two, having seen little reward for her repeated attacks. Hantuchova's grinding out her own chunks, wary of the way she defeated Ana Ivanovic, literally wearing her out in a long slugfest. But will Sharapova crumble in the vaning rounds? She has grinded out a win over Jelena Jankovic herself and allthough that doesn't follow her original plan, it was well-accepted in the end. Single jabs from both sides, grazing the opponent here and there, but barely causing any damage. Hantuchova retreats back to the ropes, drops her arms and glances straight over into the Russian's eyes. She weaves left and right but holds station. Maria ignores her teasing, but tries to land some single jabs from the left, trying to set up a decent combo. Daniela blocks those efforts and sidesteps away. Sharapova has her in the sight, but doesn't rush things anymore, keeps the single jabbing going and Hantuchova weaves around them, before firing a similar response. Sluggish round from both girls and everyone in the Indian Wells Tennis Gardens is relieved to hear the bell at the end of three uneventful minutes.

Round 7:
Sharapova back to her aggressive approach from earlier rounds, closes the distance and peppers the Slovak with a jabbing sequence to the breasts. Hantuchova looks to counter, but cannot break through with her response and gets nailed in the cheek when one of Maria's shots goes straight between her gloves. Head-snapping continues as Sharapova pours in with more hooks to the face and Daniela's pushed back to the ropes, now getting hit by her own gloves as she struggles to keep her arms in position. Maria pounds her in the ribcage, varies her attacks, and pounces on this opportunity. Daniela tries to clinch, can't get it done, Sharapova's lively on her feet, cross-hooks her lame efforts and lands another hook on the cheek. Hantuchova starts to moan, clearly struggling to catch a break and her face starts to develop a serious bruising as Maria's on top of her game now, just laying more leather into the stunned Slovakian rival's face. Relentless pounding from Sharapova and Daniela sinks on her knees, covers up, but just soaks up the punishment, unable to respond. Maria runs out of breath finally and drops the high-tempo, leans on the aching rival and peppers her in the ribcage with single jabs. Daniela's knees are soft and she bends down, finally managing to clinch, but the damage has been done before and Maria keeps lacing her with single jabs to the midsection. Ref hesitates, but allows the struggle to continue until Maria nearly wrestles Daniela to the ground. He shoves Sharapova away and the bell sounds soon afterwards saving Hantuchova from more misery.

Round 8:
Daniela's face badly swollen now and she's visibly slow across the canvas as Maria chases her down with ease, throwing vicious jabs to the stomach, just working the Slovak over. Hantuchova tries to respond, grazes the Russian in the breasts and arms with weak shots. That hardly impresses Sharapova who backs her against the ropes and quickly opens from both flanks, just pounding the aching Slovak senseless! Heavy barrage from the Russian blonde, just keeps carving into Daniela's flesh and the moans are getting louder and louder with every punch landing! Hantuchova sways on her legs, gets nailed with another gutwrencher and then a furious half-uppercut to the ear! Too much!!! Hantuchova kneels down as she's cannot stay upright anymore. Ref steps in and starts the count as Daniela takes her time to get up and eventually does so at seven, looking in very messy shape. The swelling has increased and allthough she nods back to the man in charge, Sharapova senses blood and pours in with another attack straight after the command. She immediately breaks through Daniela's guard with her first hook and lands another one from the right, now seriously bending Hantuchova's neck! Daniela sinks on the ropes and moans in pain, she's got nothing left!! Maria pounds her with no sympathy whatsoever, no signs of fitness issues from the Russian! Another cross-hook trashes Daniela's guard and a left jab nails her straight in the nose! That punch has literally drawn blood and Hantuchova leans back on the ropes awaiting more rough treatment. Still nearly a minute on the clock left and Maria whacks her through the gloves with another stiff jab, sets up a finish with a low combo to the ribs and breaks the last straw of the Slovak's resistance with a massive uppercut to the jaw! Oh dear, Daniela goes down like a sack of potatoes, crashing face-first into the canvas!!! Ref starts the count, but it doesn't matter. Hantuchova bursts into spasms as she's unable to get up after that mammoth shot to the chin! KO R8 Maria Sharapova!!!

Post-fight:
Maria raises both arms in the air and sports a massive smile, dropping her cold demeanour she'd displayed all through the night. She yells to the crowd "Told ya! This is MY home!" and receives a huge ovation. She's lived in the States since she was seven and many Americans don't consider her a true foreigner anymore. There's little sympathy shown towards the fallen Hantuchova as Maria soaks up the massive applause from the crowd and climbs the ropes relishing the glamorous response! She's back in the spotlight again after that terrible loss to Lindsey Vonn and doesn't need any help in enjoying this success! "Born to win" as they say!

Meanwhile Hantuchova needs assistance while recovering back to her stool and her face displays a messy sight. Extended brusing on both cheeks and the chin as well as busted up nose and blood stains underneath it. She bravely fought through Sharapova's aggressive attacks but run into a devilish onslaught in the seventh round and finally crumbled into a defeat in the eight. Despite this prestiguous loss, she's more then capable of grinding out more wins in the future and one really has to be as cruel in execution as Sharapova to tame the efforts of this Slovakian grinder. Hantuchova might not be the ultimate Queen of Indian Wells, but she's far from being done either.

Final result: Maria Sharapova def. Daniela Hantuchova KO8.