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Peak Henin vs peak Venus

Peak Henin vs peak Venus

10K views 88 replies 47 participants last post by  hablo 
#1 ·
Might as well add my own since everyone else has made one, and since their careers are virtually a wash anyway. I would say Henin easily on clay (duh), Venus easily on grass (duh, although IMO a bit closer than clay), and almost a toss up on hard courts or indoors.
 
#44 ·
Peak Cheater would probably find a way to steal the win but Peak Venus is of course the better player.
 
#45 ·
LOL at people making a big deal out of the set Henin won at Wimbledon 2001. Are people forgetting the rain delays and Venus rushing in the second set to get the match finished before the rain. Then she came back out in the third set concentrated and demolished Henin just like she did in the first.
 
#47 ·
Venus on grass. Justine on clay.

It's the hardcourts that are dicey. On paper, I'd give rebound ace/slow Aussie hardcourts to Justine. Easier for her to track balls down and works with her spin. Also, I'd give US Open/fast hardcourts to Venus as it plays into her peak serve and volley.

That said, on hardcourts period, it's REALLY close. It's a pity we never really got the peak v. peak match between these two. We got close, but not close enough.
 
#58 ·
I thought peak threads had gone out of fashion? Anyway, it is about your idea of peak vs mine, and you don't wanna know how badly my idea of peak Juju would brutalize every player that every played :oh:. But of course, with all the posts here, we are gifted gloriously over-the-top visions of these acid trips involving Venus anyway :rolleyes:
 
#62 ·
Peak Venus wins on all except Clay. Peak Venus is better than Peak Henin. That damn Serena messed it up for Venus, because it would be Venus with over 10 Grand Slams.

Such crap. :tape: It's Venus' own fault that she lost so many Slam finals against Serena (while Henin has a winning H2H with Serena in the Slams :wavey:)
 
#64 ·
I don't get why Venus-tards think she'd even stand a chance on clay, there's a reason why one of them has 4 French Open titles and the other has 0.

Just silliness IMO. :shrug:
 
#65 ·
Every but clay, Venus wins. I'd expect tight matches on Hard court tho, but grass court would be a total crush move for Venus.
 
#69 ·
Since when is 2003 AO SF considered closest to their primes?? Henin had not even won her 1st Slam. 2007 USO SF (in before mentions of anemia, Sjogren's etc) is way closer. Both had won Slams that year, in fact Venus at 2007 W was scary good in her last matches, and was considered a huge threat at the USO as well the way she was playing.

I guess people like to think that their faves at their peak would not be bothered by ANYTHING, including good varied play, strong offense and creative defense, but just swat away winner after winner in 6-0, 6-0 double-golden-set routs.

Sorry people, there is just 1 peak Pierce.
 
#70 ·
Since when is 2003 AO SF considered closest to their primes?? Henin had not even won her 1st Slam. 2007 USO SF (in before mentions of anemia, Sjogren's etc) is way closer. Both had won Slams that year, in fact Venus at 2007 W was scary good in her last matches, and was considered a huge threat at the USO as well the way she was playing.
Saying that Justine had not even won her first slam is a bit of a misrepresentation. That was in a year that her slam results were SF/W/SF/W, only comparable to two other calendar years she had (2007's DNP/W/SF/W and 2006's F/W/F/F.) IIRC Venus was the #2 seed and Justine was the #4 seed, it's not like they were worlds apart. It's disingenuous to try and write that one off, just because it was a couple of months before her first official slam. It's not like her form changed by any degree worth noting after the AO, her improvement in results was due largely to the change of surface.

2007 USO was Henin at her absolute apex on a HC and Venus playing well for her post-prime standards, so it's a close second in my book. And saying "inb4" something doesn't make it any less true. Frankly, I will never consider a match of Venus' from 2007-on a good representation of her peak capabilities because regardless of how good her serve, return, groundstrokes may be, having a fatigue-inducing autoimmune disease means you will ALWAYS be at a disadvantage against a healthy athlete, especially a world class one such as Henin... Especially when one of your greatest attributes was your athleticism/physical superiority to all contemporaries bar Serena or Kim.

And I won't even dignify that second paragraph with a response since I never suggested anything like that.
 
#75 ·
Venus is insanely overrated on this poll. Even one eight of people picking her to win on clay, is that freaking insane. Venus would be lucky to get 3 games off peak Henin on clay. Their matches on grass would be closer than clay. Anyway I picked the last option, but it could easily be Henin on all but grass too.
 
#77 ·
To be honest, I dont think a peak Serena can beat a peak Venus. Venus was a BEAST when she was on her game. She was fast, volleys well, consistent, good ground strokes, fastest first serve...it just kinda started falling apart in 2004....and was only consistent on grass. Justine Henin will always be #3 behind peak Williams Sisters in my opinion. I did LOVE Justine's game she was very feisty on the court and a respected player, but the Williams Sisters changed the game with their level of play and she had to rise to the level that THEY set.
 
#78 ·
To be honest, I dont think a peak Serena can beat a peak Venus.
Hahaha that is a good laugh. Venus only once in her career made an Australian Open final and a French Open final. She only once in her career made 4 slam finals in a row, and 5 out of 6. This occured guess when? Oh yeah the period she lost 5 straight slam finals to Serena, despite what I mentioned proving beyond a doubt she was playing her peak tennis.

Venus seems to be insanely overrated on this forum. Better than peak Henin on all surfaces, including clay, where a baby nowhere near prime Henin beat peak Venus 6-4, 6-1 in their first ever match on clay. Better than peak Serena who beat her in 5 straight slam finals in the only time in Venus's career she was good enough to make so many slam finals in a row. What a joke.
 
#83 ·
So funny that an overrated Venus Williams suffering majorly with Sjogrens in 2010 with very little match play shows up at the US Open and makes the Semi's and takes the eventual champion down to the biting nails end. #I'mjustsaying
 
#84 ·
Venus is the only player in history that can hit 70 unforced errors in a match and still win or get close to winning in a 3rd set tiebreak.
 
#85 ·
hard to think of peak venus because, for the most part, it was a million years ago. that said, i think she could overpower henin everywhere but clay. on clay no active player has a chance against peak henin.
 
#86 ·
2003 was the best barometer of peak vs peak and Venus smashed Henin on one of her weaker surfaces in straight sets. The claim that Venus was near her peak in 2007 while Henin was far away from hers in 2003 is just laughable. Compare Henin's 2003 record of SF, W, SF, W (slams), 6 titles to Venus' 2007 record of DNP, 3R, W, SF (slams), 2 titles.
 
#89 ·
I think peak :bigwave: wins only on clay vs peak Venus.
 
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