end of the month, Hantuchová was the defending champion, but after beating Olga Puchkova in the first round, she had to retire during her second-round match against Nina Bratchikova. Hantuchová's next two matches were first-round Fed Cup ties in February for Slovakia against Serbia. She won them both, beating Bojana Jovanovski and Vesna Dolonc in straight sets, helping her team progress to the quarterfinals. Hantuchová's next tournament was the Qatar Ladies Open, where she beat Laura Robson and Ekaterina Bychkova, losing in the third round to sixth seed Sara Errani. At the Dubai Tennis Championships, Hantuchová entered the qualifiers. She beat Karolína Plíšková, recorded a walkover against Simona Halep and beat Carla Suárez Navarro. In the first round of the main draw, she lost to sixth seed Petra Kvitová. In March, Hantuchová reached the second round in back-to-back tournaments. First, the Indian Wells Masters, beating Stéphanie Foretz Gacon and losing to top seed and defending champion Victoria Azarenka. Then, the Miami Masters, beating Tsvetana Pironkova and losing to sixth seed Errani. At the Family Circle Cup in April, she lost in the first round to Marina Erakovic. In the Fed Cup semifinal against Russia, Hantuchová beat Maria Kirilenko, but lost in three sets to Ekaterina Makarova as Slovakia was defeated 3–2. At the Marrakech Grand Prix at the end of the month, she lost to Olga Puchkova. At the Madrid Open in May, Hantuchová received a wild card and beat Sloane Stephens and eighth seed Kvitová, before losing to Kaia Kanepi in the third round. At the Rome Masters, Hantuchová lost in the second qualifying round to Simona Halep. Hantuchová then suffered two first-round defeats, at the Internationaux de Strasbourg, where she was seeded eighth, to María Teresa Torró Flor, and then at the French Open, to Jelena Janković. Hantuchová won her first tournament of 2013 in June at the Birmingham Classic. Unseeded for the tournament, she beat qualifier Casey Dellacqua in the first round. In the second, she beat seventh seed Laura Robson, securing her 500th career win and becoming only the 37th woman in the Open Era to do so. She then beat 12th seed Kristina Mladenovic, and in the quarterfinals 15th seed Francesca Schiavone. In the semifinals she defeated qualifier Alison Riske, and in the final Donna Vekić. Her first match after that was at the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships, where she received a wild card and