Maria Kirilenko after her win over Daniela Hantuchova on Saturday. Picture by Gautam Bose

Calcutta: “As I have said many times, the head is the most important thing… There are all sorts of things a powerful head can do that a powerful arm cannot. I try to prove that all the time on the court. To show people that thinking is very important. To think…”

That was Daniela Hantuchova in an interview in 2003 when she reached the pinnacle of her career. And that was also what she failed to do on a rainy Saturday night at the Netaji Indoor Stadium when severely challenged by the magical Maria Kirilenko.

In a stunning exhibition of raw power, Midas touch and tactical manoeuvring, the golden haired Kirilenko outshone the equally luminescent Slovak 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 to move into the final of the WTA Sunfeast Open.

If the Russian’s dominance in the last two sets over the world No.11 is anything to go by, Mariya Koryttseva — who defeated Anne Keothavong earlier in the evening to reach her maiden WTA Tour final — must play the match of her life to thwart Kirilenko.

The 20-year-old has always been one of those inexplicable players whose ranking defies the talent she possesses. In previous three meetings against Hantuchova, the Russian blonde drew blanks despite stretching the rosy-cheeked Slovak to three sets.

This is where her new coach, Eric van Harpen, comes in. The Dutchman has injected dollops of steel into the malleable Kirilenko. She has already tamed Jelena Jankovic in San Diego this year after emerging the loser in earlier two clashes.

When the second-seeded Hantuchova — with perfect sense of timing yet again — broke the Russian in game No.9 and held her serve to go 6-4 up, very few would have put money on Kirilenko.

In her new avatar, however, the Russian unleashed a near flawless service game at the start of the second set, fired winners at will in the second to break Hantuchova and held her serve with élan in the third.

It’s not as if Hantuchova was sitting idle. In fact, she tried all the tricks in her book — slowing the pace of the game, trying drop shots to break the Russian’s rhythm, coming up to the net — but whatever she did, Kirilenko did better.

It was her night before a raucous crowd and she was not to be denied. Despite giving a break away in the seventh game, Kirilenko held on to her serve to seal the second set.

The defining moment in the match would be the second game of the third set. One set all and with Kirilenko holding her serve, Hantuchova seemed a tad defensive, willing to let things happen. The world No.35 was the more pro-active of the two. Her service returns were a joy to watch, with an almost Andre Agassi-like poetry to it. No brutal power, just delicate timing .

Kirilenko pressed, Hantuchova relented. The rest, as they say, is history. The Slovak’s game fell apart and as she said in the interview, she lost the game in the mind.

Earlier, Koryttseva beat Keothavong 7-6 (7-3), 6-3. The scoreline of the match is deceptive because the powerful Ukrainian was really stretched by Briton in the first set.

But for some dodgy line calls and a questionable strategy on Keothavong’s part, the result could have been different. Both players appeared a little rusty to begin with committing a lot of unforced errors and breaking each other’s serve.

SUNDAY’S MATCHES

Centre Court

5.00pm: Mariya Koryttseva (Ukr) vs Maria Kirilenko (Rus); Followed by Vania King/Alla Kudryavtseva (US/Rus) vs Alberta Brianti/Mariya Koryttseva (Ita/Ukr).