Calcutta: Daniela Hantuchova, the second seed at the Sunfeast Open, landed in the city in the wee hours of Wednesday. In the evening, she decimated qualifier Marta Domachowska in a first-round match in the evening and decimated the Polish 6-2, 6-1.

And then came the surprise — she turned up for the post-match press conference dressed in a burnt-orange georgette sari, with a cream blouse, leaving everyone spellbound and tongue-tied.

The reaction amused her.

“I love to be in a sari,” Hantuchova said, adding that if it was possible, she would actually take to the courts in a sari.

On her first visit to India, the world No. 11 said she is having a great time so far.

The second seed’s arrival in the city coincided with the departure of the top seed. Marion Bartoli lost to Vania King in the first round on Tuesday.

A dejected Bartoli left the city Wednesday morning. Does that indicate that it would be a cakewalk for Hantuchova here?

“I work on my game all the time and try to improve, without expecting too much and without looking too far ahead,” said the Slovak. “I’m also getting used to the courts.”

She is fond of grasscourts. What does she think of the courts at Indoor? “It’s a good surface. I enjoyed playing on it,” she said.

Asked about her loss to Lindsay Davenport, who was making a comeback almost after a year, at the Bali Classic on Sunday, the 24-year-old said: “Lindsay played a well especially since she’s had a baby just three months back.”

She needed medical timeout during the final because of blisters. She emphasised she needed to be careful so that it did not worsen.

As for the match against Domachowska, Hantuchova said it certainly wasn’t as easy as the scoreline suggested and that she had to come up with some real good shots.

Her father is a scientist, mother a toxicologist and brother an architect. How come she’s playing tennis? “Maybe because I’m stupid,” laughed Hantuchova.

“I opted for tennis because I wanted to. Maybe I will continue with my studies after my playing career is over,” she added on a serious note.

At the moment, though, she’s happy the way she is and wouldn’t want to change it for anything.

thursday’s matches

CENTRE COURT
1.30 pm: Sofia Arvidsson (Swe) vs Tatiana Poutchek (Blr); followed by Flavia Pennetta (Ita) vs Akgul Amanmuradova (Uzb)
5.00 pm: Vania King (US) vs Mariya Koryttseva (Ukr); followed by Anastasia Rodionova (Rus) vs Daniela Hantuchova (Svk); followed by Sunitha Rao (Ind) vs Anne Keothavong (GBR)
COURT I
2.00 pm: Sandy Gumulya/Whitney Jones (Ina/US) vs Ipek Senoglu/Yaroslava Shvedova (Tur/Rus)
6.30 pm: Vania King/Alla Kudryavtseva (US/Rus) vs Tara Iyer/Aleksandra Wozniak (Ind/Can)