Hantuchova joins Halep, Fognini, Copil and Cahill at Sports Festival 2019
by CLAUDIU POP | VIEW 3112
Hantuchova will return on the tennis court in an exhibition event alongside Simona Halep, Fabio Fognini, Marius Copil and a surprising apparition in the likes of Halep’s former coach, Darren Cahill. Hantuchova will play two exhibition matches – one singles match against Simona Halep and one mixed-doubles alongside Fognini against Marius Copil and Halep -, at Sports Festival in Cluj-Napoca.
Retired almost three years ago, Daniela was a last-minute solution for the organizers of the festival. Fognini should have played alongside his wife and former WTA number one, Flavia Pennetta, but the Italian suffered an injury in a training session just a few days before the exhibition, so she announced her unavailability.
The Czech was pleased to replace Pennetta: “Hi, Romania! I’m really glad to announce that I will be part of this year’s Sports Festival in Cluj on 15th June. I will be playing alongside Fabio Fognini, Marius Copil, and Simona Halep.
I can’t wait to be part of it. See you very very soon!”
With the occasion of the exhibition matches, Halep and her former coach Darren Cahill reunited after a pretty long period of time.
They met in Bucharest where they held a training session together. Then, Cahill announced in an enthusiastic way that he looks forward to arriving in Cluj, where he will also hold a masterclass coaching session. Also, Simona took advantage of her free time after Roland Garros and went ski-jetting in Romania.
Sports Festival is a unique event in Romania that brings together professionals and amateurs. It wants to teach the people the ABC of sports, to promote movement and a healthy lifestyle.