Suresh
Mar 31st, 2007, 05:36 AM
WOMEN'S FINAL
A fierce rivalry is renewed
Serena Williams and Justine Henin will resume a rivalry in the women's singles final today between ruthless competitors who have rebounded from adversity.
BY MICHELLE KAUFMAN
mkaufman@MiamiHerald.com
In some ways, Serena Williams and Justine Henin are very different. Williams is imposing and powerful. Henin is 5-5 and crafty. Williams loves the red carpet. Top-ranked Henin shies away from media attention.
But these women are equally ruthless competitors who reached No. 1, and their careers the past few years have waffled between dominance and absence. Their Sony Ericsson Open final today renews one of the best tennis rivalries in recent years.
The last time they played was the 2003 Wimbledon semifinals, which Williams won, avenging a loss in that year's acrimonious French Open semifinal, a match that left a typically unflappable Williams shaken and in tears.
During that match, the crowd, already annoyed that Williams had beat hometown favorite Amelie Mauresmo, booed Williams incessantly, cheered her errors, and remained practically silent when she hit winners.
SPORTSMANSHIP ISSUE
As if that weren't enough to get under Williams' skin, Henin rattled her with what could have been perceived as poor sportsmanship. Leading 4-2 and 30-0, Williams was serving and Henin held her hand up, a sign she wanted more time. Williams dinked the ball into the net, figuring she had two serves remaining. The chair umpire, who didn't see Henin's motion, told Williams she had one serve left.
Instead of telling the umpire she had requested time, Henin said nothing. Williams lost the game. She complained, and the crowd turned on her even more. After the match, Williams accused Henin of ''lying and fabricating'' her excuse for not speaking out on the controversial point.
Williams insists ''whatever happened in the past is the past, I've totally moved on,'' but she slipped something into a lengthy news conference this week, offering a hint that she has not forgotten that ugly day at Roland Garros in 2003.
''We've had some tough matches in the past, so hopefully we'll just play a great, honest match,'' Williams said, suggesting perhaps Henin was less than honest that afternoon in 2003.
She said if there were ill feelings, they have dissipated.
'Justine and I, we are just competitors in the locker room. We don't sneer at each other or growl. We get along. We say, `Hi.' We ask, 'How you doing?' It's good to see her on tour again. I hope she's excited to see me back out again. At the end of the day, it's just a game.''
Henin has called Williams ''a great champion'' this week, and said she is happy to have the former No. 1 back on tour. ''She has nothing to prove to anyone,'' Henin said. ``She did it in the past.''
A lot has happened to both players since that French Open match. Williams had knee surgery, had to cope with the murder of her half-sister, Yetunde, and she plunged to No. 140 in July. Henin had a virus that kept her off the tour for several months in 2004, battled nagging injuries, and in January skipped the Australian Open to deal with the breakdown of her marriage.
ROBUST RETURNS
But they are back, in a big way. Williams, healthy and displaying a renewed commitment to the sport, roared to the 2007 Australian Open title. She is 14-1 this year, and has won every match in this tournament in straight sets. If she wins her fourth Key Biscayne title today, she will move up to No. 11. Henin is 15-1 and coming off back-to-back titles in Dubai and Doha.
''It should be a beauty,'' TV analyst Mary Carillo said. ``The way they're both playing, and then the fact that they haven't played for so long, it gives the match an extra edge. They have some history, and they've both had to work through pain. Justine seems more relaxed, like she smiles easier. If she's smiling and Serena's scowling the way she does when she really gets into a match, it doesn't get better than that.''
http://www.miamiherald.com/673/story/59138.html
A fierce rivalry is renewed
Serena Williams and Justine Henin will resume a rivalry in the women's singles final today between ruthless competitors who have rebounded from adversity.
BY MICHELLE KAUFMAN
mkaufman@MiamiHerald.com
In some ways, Serena Williams and Justine Henin are very different. Williams is imposing and powerful. Henin is 5-5 and crafty. Williams loves the red carpet. Top-ranked Henin shies away from media attention.
But these women are equally ruthless competitors who reached No. 1, and their careers the past few years have waffled between dominance and absence. Their Sony Ericsson Open final today renews one of the best tennis rivalries in recent years.
The last time they played was the 2003 Wimbledon semifinals, which Williams won, avenging a loss in that year's acrimonious French Open semifinal, a match that left a typically unflappable Williams shaken and in tears.
During that match, the crowd, already annoyed that Williams had beat hometown favorite Amelie Mauresmo, booed Williams incessantly, cheered her errors, and remained practically silent when she hit winners.
SPORTSMANSHIP ISSUE
As if that weren't enough to get under Williams' skin, Henin rattled her with what could have been perceived as poor sportsmanship. Leading 4-2 and 30-0, Williams was serving and Henin held her hand up, a sign she wanted more time. Williams dinked the ball into the net, figuring she had two serves remaining. The chair umpire, who didn't see Henin's motion, told Williams she had one serve left.
Instead of telling the umpire she had requested time, Henin said nothing. Williams lost the game. She complained, and the crowd turned on her even more. After the match, Williams accused Henin of ''lying and fabricating'' her excuse for not speaking out on the controversial point.
Williams insists ''whatever happened in the past is the past, I've totally moved on,'' but she slipped something into a lengthy news conference this week, offering a hint that she has not forgotten that ugly day at Roland Garros in 2003.
''We've had some tough matches in the past, so hopefully we'll just play a great, honest match,'' Williams said, suggesting perhaps Henin was less than honest that afternoon in 2003.
She said if there were ill feelings, they have dissipated.
'Justine and I, we are just competitors in the locker room. We don't sneer at each other or growl. We get along. We say, `Hi.' We ask, 'How you doing?' It's good to see her on tour again. I hope she's excited to see me back out again. At the end of the day, it's just a game.''
Henin has called Williams ''a great champion'' this week, and said she is happy to have the former No. 1 back on tour. ''She has nothing to prove to anyone,'' Henin said. ``She did it in the past.''
A lot has happened to both players since that French Open match. Williams had knee surgery, had to cope with the murder of her half-sister, Yetunde, and she plunged to No. 140 in July. Henin had a virus that kept her off the tour for several months in 2004, battled nagging injuries, and in January skipped the Australian Open to deal with the breakdown of her marriage.
ROBUST RETURNS
But they are back, in a big way. Williams, healthy and displaying a renewed commitment to the sport, roared to the 2007 Australian Open title. She is 14-1 this year, and has won every match in this tournament in straight sets. If she wins her fourth Key Biscayne title today, she will move up to No. 11. Henin is 15-1 and coming off back-to-back titles in Dubai and Doha.
''It should be a beauty,'' TV analyst Mary Carillo said. ``The way they're both playing, and then the fact that they haven't played for so long, it gives the match an extra edge. They have some history, and they've both had to work through pain. Justine seems more relaxed, like she smiles easier. If she's smiling and Serena's scowling the way she does when she really gets into a match, it doesn't get better than that.''
http://www.miamiherald.com/673/story/59138.html