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"The best we have seen" Henin and Mauresmo on playing Serena

7K views 59 replies 30 participants last post by  GooooonNow 
#1 ·
Henin:

"I have so many memories against Serena. It was always a tough challenge because she was the best I played for sure," seven-time grand slam champion Henin told Omnisport.

"At the moment she is still at her best after so many years. The consistency of Serena has brought a lot of good things to the game.

"When I faced Serena the first few times I was impressed because her mental strength was just amazing. You could lead then she would serve four aces in a row.

"It was never over against her. You had to be at your best all the time. I played a lot of times against the best we have seen.

"Serena was the toughest I had to play. When she had to make a difference, she was there. She knew if she was facing match point she would still come back into the game. Her vision of the game also. She was really the best."

Mauresmo:

"It was a challenge each time I played Serena. To handle her power, her mental strength," she told Omnisport.

"I only won a couple of times against her, we met 10 or 11 times maybe. For me it was hard, I never liked when girls were going at me and hitting hard. I needed time to get my game together. I had to be really sharp physically, serve well and be aggressive.

"Her serve is the best in the history of women's tennis. Her mental strength and the way she digs really deep to change the momentum is really impressive. She's really powerful on the court. It makes it pretty difficult."

Henin marvels at Serena longevity
 
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#2 ·
Mauresmo surprised me with "I never liked when girls were going at me and hitting hard". I thought she was a hard hitter herself, strange seeing her complain playing against hardhitters.:surprise:
 
#4 · (Edited)
Aww,nothing like the truth being told,Bless them for their correct assessment of the Queen's championship traits that make her a One of a kind Goat/Boat and that puts her on the Mt. Rushmore of Tennis Greats.
 
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#6 ·
Aww,nothing like the truth being told,Bless them for their correct assessment of the Queen's championship traits that make her a One of a kind Goat/Boat and that put her on the Mt. Rushmore of Tennis Greats.
Yeah, Especially Henin acknowledging Serena being the best even at the time she was playing. :yeah: for her honesty
 
#9 ·
As it should be.

It shows the two are consummate athletes (there is no need for animosity between players who're no longer competing cuz otherwise it means there's way more bitterness than there needs to be).

And besides, especially Justine has no motive or interest to talk down about Serena's level. Complimenting Serena as goat is an advantage to someone who owns the goat in slam H2H. As Hingis would say "it only helps her" :oh:
 
#11 ·
The queens of tennis having a great admiration for each other:worship:

At least Justine was a true rival for Serena. Could've had a long career as well if it wasn't for the injuries:(
 
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#23 ·
I still think Azarenka is one of Serena's main rivals. Yes she has only beaten her 4 times, but the majority of their matches have been very close and there are matches that Azarenka could've - and probably should've - won: the 2010 AO quarter final; 2015 Madrid; and 2015 French Open. Unfortunately, she has never managed to beat Serena in any Grand Slam event; one wonders if she will ever achieve that (if she manages to play Serena after pregnancy).
 
#41 ·
"A game" is such a meaningless way of analysing why players win and lose. "Not at 100%" and "not on her A game" are also meaningless excuses because playing at your absolute peak is a mythical unicorn.

Like, we hear how unplayable Peak Pierce and Peak Petra are all the time. And that's absolutely true. But it happens so rarely that, you know, who cares? Average Pierce and Average Petra are more relevant. And so is Average Serena, though the difference is Average Serena is about as high an average level as we've ever seen.
 
#53 ·
Are people actually arguing peak serena vs peak henin on grass?
Henin shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath.
Couldn't even win 1 wimbledon title and your comparing her to a 7 time champion. No offence to her. She was decent on grass. But she's not even in the same galaxy.
 
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