Hantuchova Is Strong in Win

Daniela Hantuchova, playing in her first hard-court event since she began working with a new trainer six months ago, overcame Cara Black of Zimbabwe, 6-2, 6-4, Tuesday in the JPMorgan Chase Open at the Home Depot Center.

The 21-year-old Slovakian showed off an overpowering serve and impressive ground strokes, along with a slightly fuller face and figure in a first-round match. She attributed her changes to increased weight and strength resulting from better eating habits and a new conditioning program recently instituted by fitness coach Marian Gejdos.

“I feel so much stronger,” Hantuchova said. “I feel I’ve really got a lot of strength and a lot of power on my shots, and I think when I hit it well, it really does some damage to my opponents.

“And I feel much faster on the court as well, so I’m really happy that I met this guy.”

The 5-foot-11 Hantuchova said Gejdos has helped her increase her weight by 11 pounds since last year, from 123 pounds to 134 pounds.

Hantuchova said she was never actually diagnosed with an eating disorder, although she was rumored to have one and has been hounded by questions about it and its effects on her health.

“I didn’t have an eating problem, but I was trying to eat really healthy and sometimes, I was getting it a little wrong,” she said. “I’m so glad that it’s all over now, and that I’m really feeling strong and feeling like I can do some damage now, and that everything is going the right way.”

Hantuchova advanced to at least the quarterfinals in six of her first eight events in 2003 and was at a career-high No. 5 in the WTA entry-system rankings in February. But she fell to No. 19 in the world by the end of the year after posting only two victories over top-20 players the rest of the way. She is at No. 35 but is confident about improving in the wake of a recent performance at a Wimbledon warm-up event.

She advanced to the final match at Eastbourne in Britain, although she lost in three sets to Svetlana Kuznetsova, the fifth-seeded player in the JPMorgan Chase Open.

Tuesday’s victory was another step in the right direction.

“I’m really relaxed inside myself and really enjoying everything, and eating as much as I want, and working hard and doing the right things now,” she said. “I knew there was something I needed to change because it was not possible to keep going like that, and that I needed to gain more power and strength.

“Overall now, I’m feeling really, really strong and if I hit my shots the right way, it’s hard to play against me.”

Ashley Harkleroad broke Venus Williams’ serve in the first game of their second-round match Tuesday night, but after that, the 19-year-old knew she was in too deep, much like her opponent’s penetrating ground strokes. Williams won, 6-2, 6-1.

“She’s someone who either misses 10 feet long or makes it on the line, and obviously she makes it a lot because she’s a great player,” said Harkleroad, who defeated Shinobu Asagoe in the first round Monday.

Harkleroad held her serve for 2-0 and was still up, 2-1 and 30-love before Williams got untracked.

“If I can hit hard and overpower someone, that’s very intimidating,” said No. 2-seeded Williams, who is making her first appearance in the tournament since 1997.

“I think when someone plays me, the match begins before the match even starts. They start to think about how they’re going to play me, and that’s very tough.”

In other matches, fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva of Russia beat Lilia Osterloh, 6-4, 6-2, and 31-year-old Amy Frazier defeated Alina Jidkova of Russia, 6-2, 6-2, in 52 minutes. Eleni Daniilidou rallied to defeat Teryn Ashley, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3; and Barbara Schett defeated Claudine Schaul, 6-3, 6-4.

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Featured Matches

Today at Home Depot Center in Carson:

STADIUM COURT, 11 a.m.

* Maria Vento-Kabchi vs.

Svetlana Kuznetsova

* Serena Williams vs. Eleni Daniilidou

* Anna Smashnova-Pistoles vs.

Daniela Hantuchova

* Iveta Benesova vs. Chanda Rubin

STADIUM COURT, 7 p.m.

* Anne Kremer vs. Lindsay Davenport

* Tina Pisnik vs. Vera Zvonareva