tennischick
Nov 12th, 2002, 07:40 PM
Justine Henin has probably the best first serve of any player her height.
That is not a good thing.
Henin has done an excellent job of building a truly forcing first serve. The problem is, because she's so short, she'd done that by creating a serve with no margin for error. It means her first serve misses a lot (50%, from the statistics we've seen, is a good first serve percentage for Henin). And because the first is so risky, she has had to produce completely different motion for her second serve.
And the second serve is your basic bunt: Nothing on it. On traditional surfaces, Henin can get away with that because she has so many tricks in her ground game. But indoors, where the returner can eat that serve, Henin is in trouble. Particularly since she's mentally fragile and doesn't have a real game plan.
When you added in nerves from playing countrywoman Kim Clijsters, the result was very ugly indeed. Especially since no one had much time to practice on the court. That surely helped Clijsters, the better indoor player. Or, rather, hurt her less; both players were sloppy, but Henin was terrible. And the score reflected it. For the second straight year, Clijsters made the Championships semifinal -- this time, by a score of 6-2 6-1.
At least Henin will have some extra time to get ready for her wedding.
soruce: www.tennisone.com
That is not a good thing.
Henin has done an excellent job of building a truly forcing first serve. The problem is, because she's so short, she'd done that by creating a serve with no margin for error. It means her first serve misses a lot (50%, from the statistics we've seen, is a good first serve percentage for Henin). And because the first is so risky, she has had to produce completely different motion for her second serve.
And the second serve is your basic bunt: Nothing on it. On traditional surfaces, Henin can get away with that because she has so many tricks in her ground game. But indoors, where the returner can eat that serve, Henin is in trouble. Particularly since she's mentally fragile and doesn't have a real game plan.
When you added in nerves from playing countrywoman Kim Clijsters, the result was very ugly indeed. Especially since no one had much time to practice on the court. That surely helped Clijsters, the better indoor player. Or, rather, hurt her less; both players were sloppy, but Henin was terrible. And the score reflected it. For the second straight year, Clijsters made the Championships semifinal -- this time, by a score of 6-2 6-1.
At least Henin will have some extra time to get ready for her wedding.
soruce: www.tennisone.com