Hantuchova battling injury ahead of grass court season

Since we reported Daniela Hantuchova’s entry into the 2012 AEGON Classic in Birmingham, the Slovak star has suffered a setback – and her grass court season is now in some doubt.

The world number 17 reached last year’s final, but a stress reaction during her recent Fed Cup tie against Spain’s Lourdes Dominguez Lino has put her out of action for the near future.

 Hantuchova battled to a brave three-set victory over the Spaniard, despite coming close to losing the match on several occasions.

She lost the first set by a stinging six games to love, and faced near-elimination again at 5-4 down in the second set, with a scoreline of 15-30 on Dani’s serve, before coming back to a tie-break.

The Slovak again had to battle back after dropping to 3-1 down in the tie-break, but somehow overcame the odds to take the final set 6-4 and claim the match – which guaranteed Slovakia a place in the Fed Cup World Group for 2013.

Commenting on her website, Hantuchova said: “The Fed Cup tie over the weekend was too much for an injury of this type, and I have damaged it even more during my matches, but all I can say is that it was worth it for bringing our country back to the World Group.”

She has had to withdraw from the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, but added in tweets that she is hopeful of a return in time for the grass season.

That should mean she’s fit to compete in the AEGON Classic in mid-June; however, a stress reaction usually means a few weeks out of the game, so it could be a close-run thing.

Wimbledon, the pinnacle of the grass court calendar, is due to start on June 25th, but Britain’s hopefuls could be forgiven for hoping the tenacious Slovakian star is absent from both tournaments.