With or without the extra name Hardenne, Justine Henin was invincible at the French Championship, again! I am a big fan of her tennis. It is more amazing to me that in the modern age of tennis where athletes are bigger and stronger, a small frame Justine can forcefully contain her competitions. Congratulations to Justine for her 3rd consecutive French Open title!
Henin wins third consecutive French Open
Associated Press, Updated 10 minutes ago
PARIS (AP) – Justine Henin claimed her third consecutive French Open title and her fourth overall Saturday, taking advantage of 19-year-old Ana Ivanovic’s nervous play to win 6-1, 6-2.
Henin closed out the victory with a forehand volley winner, then flipped her racket, buried her head in her hands, leaned on the net and exhaled.
“It’s surreal to win for the third time in a row,” the Belgian said. “I am struggling to take it in.”
She became the first woman since Monica Seles in 1990-92 to win three consecutive Roland Garros titles, and only the second since 1937.
Ivanovic, a Serb playing in her first Grand Slam final, started well before her play deteriorated. The first sign of trouble came when she awkwardly hit a serve 10 feet long, prompting groans from the crowd. She double-faulted to fall behind 3-1, and the unforced errors came in flurries after that.
“I started getting nervous,” Ivanovic said. “I couldn’t control the serve, and she used that well.”
Ivanovic committed 26 unforced errors to 13 for Henin and also double-faulted five times.
Here is the full story.
I like Justine.
I like Justine too. In this modern age where everyone is just blasting their way round with pure brute strength and modern equipment, its nice to see that there are people who play more with their heads & rely more on skill, angle & touch. Alas. The last of these types was Stefan Edberg. Sampras too was a good balance between power, speed and skill. The rest of them players after him were mostly ‘hit the ball as hard as you can & blow the opponent of the court’ types.
Another thing, she is just abt the only one these days who plays a backhand topspin shot single-handed. Its really one of the most beautiful strokes to behold when done properly. Having a pleasant looking face scores some points with me too.
Indeed her winning streak is a class act, when you look at her fragile posture compared to the likes of Serena.
Well done!
“The last of these types was Stefan Edberg. Sampras too was a good balance between power, speed and skill. The rest of them players after him were mostly ‘hit the ball as hard as you can & blow the opponent of the court’ types.”
There surely is some truth in this, but I would prefer Agassi a better example than Sampras. Agassi was pure technique, where Pete did need his power serve.