 |
| |
|
 |
 |
|
|
50-50 chance Hantuchova's Open campaign hangs in the balancePosted: Monday September 02, 2002 2:52 PMNEW YORK2 (Reuters) -- Eleventh seed Daniela Hantuchova is just 50-50 to continue her run at the U.S. Open, women's tennis officials announced on Monday. The Slovak is slated to resume her rain-delayed fourth-round clash with Justine Henin later in the day if the weather improves. Hantuchova took an awkward tumble in the damp and sprained her right thumb during her match against the eighth-seeded Belgian on Sunday night. Hantuchova had easily won the first set 6-1 and was serving at 2-1 down and 40-30 in the second when she lunged for a forehand return in the corner and skidded on the baseline, falling on her right hand. She was receiving treatment on the injury when the rain, which caused an almost six-hour delay earlier on Sunday, resurfaced to halt play for the evening. The winner of the Hantuchova-Henin match will be rewarded with a quarterfinal clash against top-seeded American Serena Williams. Williams, the reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion, became the first female to earn a spot in the quarters by thrashing 20th-seeded Czech Daja Bedanova 6-1 6-1 in the only match to be completed. On Monday afternoon, the WTA released an injury report evaluating Hantuchova's status. It rated the 19-year-old player's ability to play at only 50 percent and said she was "questionable to compete but intends to compete." Hantuchova was taken for an X-ray on her thumb, and the report said the results were "normal." Hantuchova, an opening-round loser on her maiden visit here last year, is due to play first on Court 11. The rain is still falling thick and fast in New York, however, with no indication when it may stop. Satellite reports indicate that showers show no sign of abating until the evening. Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
|
|||||||||
| |||||||||||
