Doha SF: J. Henin d. J. Jankovic 6-7, 6-2, 6-4

Queen Justine prevails!

:woohoo: Justine!!!

:hug: Great Match Jelena

Congrats Justine :D

Jelena :hug:

What a horror-fest that was! So ugly.

Congrats Justine!

Jelena :bigcry:

The match had certainly its drama even though quality wasn't the best. Well done Justine :clap2: and best of luck in the final! :yeah:

Jelena :hug: Great fighting spirit, even though I think you shouldn't be playing in Doha at all. :tape: She's gonna be dead now. :tape:

What a crazy match :bolt:

Congrats Justine :D

Pick it up tomorrow though ;)

Rest that ankle, Jelena :hug:

Jelena :sad:

Yaaa Ju, Love you :bounce:

must be reallly a horrible match. congrats ju

Tough time closing out sets and match but got it done in a crazy match Jelena loves.

The amount of 0-40 games was plentiful.

LOTS of break of service in the final set.

Henin keeps winning on hardcourt. That's a great sign for the upcoming clay court season.

I also think Justine will have best Miami result this year.:cool:

Both players seriously need to apologize for such a horrbile display of tennis especially concerining serving. Ugly ugly ........... UGLY :fiery: Still Allez Justine ;)

:o

Jelena :hug:

this girl is just amazing :worship: proud to be a fan of a winner :p

RESPECT for Jankovic. Few points decided the match. She'll win this kind of matches soon. She deserves top5...and thats where she'll be at the end of season.

No matter of loss Jelena...what you played today made me proud.

Justine broke more times than she held. :eek: Great win! :D

Juju :banana: :banana: :p

:woohoo:
Well done, Justine :yeah:

What a ridiculous match. Jelena had no business playing it in the first place while Justine really needs to pick up her game.
17 breaks of serve :rolleyes:

Enna, you never cease to amaze me. :hearts: :drool: :worship:

Nice fight, JJ...;)

Enna prevails and will win this tournament. Can't wait til she and Serena meet in a major again :boxing: :EnnaHAND:

YAY! :rocker2: Congrats Ju! :banana:

Nice fight Jelena :)

now u knw they both played thier worst of worst in the third set...

JELENA WUD HAV WON HAD SHE SERVED FIRST IN THE THIRD:mad:

Hmm... now who awaits the "Gulf Queen" in the Final... the "Stunner of Slovak" or "The Russian Igor"? :lol:

Congratulations Justine!:bounce: :bounce:

17 breaks :o :o :o :o :o

As usual I am not surprised. Congrats JH!

Both players seriously need to apologize for such a horrbile display of tennis especially concerining serving. Ugly ugly ........... UGLY :fiery: Still Allez Justine ;)

Indeed. 17 Breaks of serve.

Hmm... now who awaits the "Gulf Queen" in the Final... the "Stunner of Slovak" or "The Russian Igor"? :lol:
Yes, it will be quite interesting. Svetlana hits with a lot more pace, and I presume it will be her.

Does anyone know if Jelena had any problems with her ankle? :shrug:
Has she recovered or is she intent on reinjuring herself at the earliest opportunity? :tape:
I'm guessing not much, because it was a 3 setter :rolleyes:

Well done Comrade Mighty Mouse :bounce: :lol:

I also think Justine will have best Miami result this year.:cool:

That would be GREAT!!!:D

What a strange match
I don't believe this.
Jelena could have won, but Justine is really good.

If JJ was able to run, she would have won...maybe...

Steva will beat dani....

thrash dani...

congrats justine!!!i'm so proud of you!!!:worship:
:bounce:

great match! great powerfull rallies and some shots :eek: :bowdown:
Congrats Justine! :yeah:
Jelenka :kiss::hug:

Way to hang in there, Justine!!!

Ugly,borinng,ugly,borinng,ugly,borinng,ugly,borinn g,ugly,borinng,ugly,borinng, :o :help:

My goodness! Justine Henin is unbelievable!!:eek:

Tough luck Jelena.

If JJ was able to run, she would have won...maybe...
oh please :rolleyes:
she ran a LOT!

well done justine, it seems jelena fought to the end which is always admiral.

Ugly,borinng,ugly,borinng,ugly,borinng,ugly,borinn g,ugly,borinng,ugly,borinng, :o :help:
:yawn: :yawn: :yawn: :yawn: :yawn: :yawn: :yawn: :yawn: :yawn: :yawn: :yawn: :yawn: :yawn: :yawn:

well done justine, it seems jelena fought to the end which is always admiral.
Yes, Jankovic kept fighting back in the last set.

Ugly,borinng,ugly,borinng,ugly,borinng,ugly,borinn g,ugly,borinng,ugly,borinng, :o :help:

Same could be said for Sesil Karatencheva's forehand :) BTW its boring

Allez Justine!!! So proud of you! Now win the final and become the Ultimate Desert Queen!!! :D

Ugly,borinng,ugly,borinng,ugly,borinng,ugly,borinn g,ugly,borinng,ugly,borinng, :o :help:

disagree, it was one nice match to watch in my opinion, there were 60+ winners, so it was not that a horrible match.

Jelena :( :sad: :(
that game at 1-1* in the third set was the decision when the Allez held her serve

now u knw they both played thier worst of worst in the third set...

JELENA WUD HAV WON HAD SHE SERVED FIRST IN THE THIRD:mad:

With everything going on in Justine's personal life, I'm just really happy to see her pull these tough matches so soon, and really focusing on her tennis and going forward in a positive manner.

No doubt Jelena was going to give her fits. No doubt about that.

Same could be said for Sesil Karatencheva's forehand :) BTW its boring

Ahh Craig,the local idiot is here :yawn:

Great win Justine!
Good Fight Jelena, but really it should've been over in straight sets.

Now win the title Justine!

Congratulations Justine! :bounce:

Make it a desert sweep tomorrow! :woohoo:

I physically cringed during this match. :help: The quality was just so bad.
Jelena :hug: I have new found respect for you now though. :p :hatoff: Awesome effort, even though you could barely move.
Well done Justine. Great champion to still win when she was at maybe 20%. :o

Allez Justine!!! So proud of you! Now win the final and become the Ultimate Desert Queen!!! :D
http://imagesource.art.com/images/-/Unknown/The-Adventures-of-Priscilla-Queen-of-the-Desert-Pre-made-Frame-C12161541.jpeg
No, I think there is only one "Queen of the Desert," ;)

Perhaps, Queen of the Middle East???

Congrats Justine - SHE'S THE BOSS! :worship: :devil: :worship:

Ahh Craig,the local idiot is here :yawn:

Actually he must be very smart to know how to spell boring. :) :p

Ahh Craig,the local idiot is here :yawn:

Local idiot? :lol: WTF? Is this message board a town now? :lol: You creep.
So enlighten me... Why was this match boring?

Allez juju..Go get the title..:yeah:

Actually he must be very smart to know how to spell boring. :) :p

:rolls:

come on danielaaaaaaaaaaaa

Ok Jeca, take this as a break & dont get yourself into more injuries!!

Congrats Justine:D
Now win the title, you deserve it so much:hug:

Why is Justine struggling so much these days? :help: She's still winning, but it seems she's not even close to her best form.

She's tired too, Ju. It's just back to the days where she literally fought to win matches rather than played brilliantly throughout.

Go Daniela Go!!!!!!!

Allez!!!!juju.A true champion.:cool:

Nice fight Justine.

But awful, awful match !! What's wrong with Justine these days, she keep piling up the errors. I longed for the days she played a fairly high percentage game.

I missed the first set. This was poor stuff. Both players looked a shadow of their best.
:rolleyes:

Why is Justine struggling so much these days? :help: She's still winning, but it seems she's not even close to her best form.
Its not the first time this has happened with Justine. She's done this before, but always seemed to fight her way through.

Its a difficult time for her, so I'm not surprised she's not playing her best form right now. However, expect to see her improve as time passes.

Winning when you are not at your best is what makes great champions. And that's why Justine is such a great champion.

DANIELA :D YAAAAAAAY she'll beat henin for sure.

well done juju, you could have made it much easier if you could hold your serve

at 5-4 in the first BROKEN
at 6-5 in the first BROKEN
all these chances to close out the first set, but she got broken every time

at 3-1 in the third BROKEN
at 4-2 in the third BROKEN
at 5-3 in the third BROKEN

all these chances to make a bigger lead and got broken every time

GO work on your serve before the final justine!
Good Luck!

if not kuzzy will :D yay

Well, she's winning isn't she? It doesn't matter how she wins it, as long its a win ;)

I missed the first set. This was poor stuff. Both players looked a shadow of their best.
:rolleyes:

Justine looked somewhere near her best in the final last week (to my eyes anyway) - her serve rock solid, not broken once. What's happened to the serve this week? Is is still windy over there?

DANIELA :D YAAAAAAAY she'll beat henin for sure.

if not kuzzy will :D yay

:weirdo:

Justine is tired and has a problem with her left thigh, that's the reason for poor play

Yep Justine was unbelievable in this match. Unbelievable how she completely failed to realize that all she needed to do was make the angles. Jelena could hardly move and if she had to run to get a shot - there was no way she could turn and run back. But Justine's game plan was to hit the ball in the middle and she wasn't going to change that plan. Carlos looked well pissed off. Sam Smith couldn't believe Justine couldn't see it - it was so obvious as a spectator.

Ridiculous that Jelena should have been out there in that condition making her injury worse. But then that's her. She won't quit - most other players wouldn't have been out there. And she tried to conceal her lack of movement as best she could. And incredibly Justine didn't see it and took 3 sets to beat a barely moving player.

I heard it was windy, not sure how much, but I think it's a mental problem for JU; lack of concentration or fatigue. Maybe Ju wasn't playing the angles because of the wind; she didn't trust herself to not make errors. But I agree that an angled game from side-side would have been the obvious plan today.

Yep Justine was unbelievable in this match. Unbelievable how she completely failed to realize that all she needed to do was make the angles. Jelena could hardly move and if she had to run to get a shot - there was no way she could turn and run back. But Justine's game plan was to hit the ball in the middle and she wasn't going to change that plan. Carlos looked well pissed off. Sam Smith couldn't believe Justine couldn't see it - it was so obvious as a spectator.

Ridiculous that Jelena should have been out there in that condition making her injury worse. But then that's her. She won't quit - most other players wouldn't have been out there. And she tried to conceal her lack of movement as best she could. And incredibly Justine didn't see it and took 3 sets to beat a barely moving player.

what match you were watching :confused:

Enna, you never cease to amaze me. :hearts: :drool: :worship:

Nice fight, JJ...;)

Enna prevails and will win this tournament. Can't wait til she and Serena meet in a major again :boxing: :EnnaHAND:

But, but, but at the beginning of the week you said "she wouldn't win this tournament" and now you say she will. :scratch: Can you not stick to one thing or are you just bandwaggoning? :lol:

:SerenaAZZ: http://yelims.free.fr/Sexe/Sexe03.gif

JJ always loses these tough matches, her injury is bad and she can't serve or move :( Get some rest girl and try to fix your injuries

Well done Juju I knew you would win no matter what !!

what match you were watching :confused:

I think he/she is completly right ... 3/4 of the whole match Justine was just hitting in the middle oft the court

Well done Henin, Hard luck Jankovic. Keep it going tho!

:sad:

Ugly,borinng,ugly,borinng,ugly,borinng,ugly,borinn g,ugly,borinng,ugly,borinng, :o :help:

I realise you must be looking in the mirror when saying that, but what did you think of the match? :lol:

Just joking :kiss:

That was crazy. Justine needs to get her act together and Jeca needs to take some time out, for Christ's sake.

Nice fight Justine.

But awful, awful match !! What's wrong with Justine these days, she keep piling up the errors. I longed for the days she played a fairly high percentage game.she needs pierre hardenne:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

JH knows that JJ is hurt so she does not want to run JJ around. This shows that JH is such a warm and caring person.

:angel: :lol: :angel:

Enna prevails and will win this tournament. Can't wait til she and Serena meet in a major again :boxing: :EnnaHAND:
Be careful what you wish for :devil:

Yep Justine was unbelievable in this match. Unbelievable how she completely failed to realize that all she needed to do was make the angles. Jelena could hardly move and if she had to run to get a shot - there was no way she could turn and run back. But Justine's game plan was to hit the ball in the middle and she wasn't going to change that plan. Carlos looked well pissed off. Sam Smith couldn't believe Justine couldn't see it - it was so obvious as a spectator.


This reminds me really alot of another match, one of "Justine Henin"'s last matches before she got married. It was against Davenport in either Linz or Zurich and Davenport was really injured and could hardly move, yet Justine still lost the match, simply because she didn't realise that Lindsay couldn't move and that all she needed to do was make her run and she would've run. No one could believe that Ju actually lost when the solution was so obvious and she was pretty annoyed at herself too, and accused Lindsay of faking it.

Well, Justine Henin is back but I sure hope that particular aspect of her isn't :eek:

what match you were watching :confused:

More to the point - did you see the match. Get a look at it again. The few times Justine hit an angled shot she always won the point. Jelena would get to it but then had to give up. She couldn't properly turn - and she barely got to ita anyway. This from one of the fastest players around. You'd have thought the penny would drop and she'd think Hmm that's all I have to do. But watch the match - she just hit to the middle - the normal thing to do against Jelena to deprive her of making the angles when she's fit. But she should have realised and adapted her game accordingly. Done some drop shots as well.

I always thought Justine was mentally and tactically astute. But not in this match.

Yep Justine was unbelievable in this match. Unbelievable how she completely failed to realize that all she needed to do was make the angles. Jelena could hardly move and if she had to run to get a shot - there was no way she could turn and run back. But Justine's game plan was to hit the ball in the middle and she wasn't going to change that plan. Carlos looked well pissed off. Sam Smith couldn't believe Justine couldn't see it - it was so obvious as a spectator.

Ridiculous that Jelena should have been out there in that condition making her injury worse. But then that's her. She won't quit - most other players wouldn't have been out there. And she tried to conceal her lack of movement as best she could. And incredibly Justine didn't see it and took 3 sets to beat a barely moving player.

She may not have seen it in this match with JJ, but she certainly sees it in the matches with Kim! :D

She may not have seen it in this match with JJ, but she certainly sees it in the matches with Kim! :D
Oh, and Mother Marjorie notes that it happends when Kim isn't injured, either. :wavey:

That's not her best match for sure (;) ).
But she won, that's the most important and she will hopefully raise her game in the final.

GO JUSTINE:bounce:

Oh, and Mother Marjorie notes that it happends when Kim isn't injured, either. :wavey:

Correct :wavey:

Ah Jelena, if only you could held your serve in the 3rd set, nevertheless thanks for the fight :hug:

Allez Ju! :banana: :worship: :bounce:

Good luck for the final! :hug:

JH knows that JJ is hurt so she does not want to run JJ around. This shows that JH is such a warm and caring person.

:angel: :lol: :angel:

:lol: I think it might have been kinder to JJ though with her injury to have just beaten her quickly.

Seriously though I really was worried for JJ. I know she refuses to quit and all - but after fer fall against Amelie last week - I really am concerned she's not giving her injury time to heal playing in this tournament this week.

I don't doubt that Ju is mentally astute because she is quite aware of what is hapepning on court and what adjustments should be made. I don't doubt she knew that one of the keys to winning today was moving Jelena around. Maybe she couldn't execute at will. Maybe she was making so many errors off her ground strokes that she took the safe and easy route; the middle. So the question is not did she know? but why didn't she?

With everything going on in Justine's personal life, I'm just really happy to see her pull these tough matches so soon, and really focusing on her tennis and going forward in a positive manner.

No doubt Jelena was going to give her fits. No doubt about that.

great post!! her personal life AND her TOUGH MATCH yesterday against PATTY make this win over tough JELENA even more impressive!

jelena!!!!!!!! :( but good tournament, you almost had it...

:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :yeah: :bigclap:

I LOVE QUEEN JUSTINE!!!!!!!!!!!! :sobbing: :sobbing: :sobbing: :hearts:

u pulled through & keep FIGHTING out there despite being broken alot.

the most important thing, is you hung in there & WON!!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS QUEEN JUSTINE!!!!!!!!!!!!! :worship: :woohoo:

on to the CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND!!!!!!

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so proud of u!!!!!!!!

love u!!!!!

Jelena :sad: She showed true fighting spirit and did herself proud. I hope she rests that ankle though or I fear she's going to end up hobbling her way through the rest of the year.

Congrats, Justine.

Well done Jelena!!!! Despite she lost, she showed fantastic fighting spirit and did everything she could considering that she played practicly on one leg. But, if something is good about this result is that Jelena will have more time to rest and totaly recover for Indian Wells.

Justine :yeah:

:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :yeah: :bigclap:

I LOVE QUEEN JUSTINE!!!!!!!!!!!! :sobbing: :sobbing: :sobbing: :hearts:

u pulled through & keep FIGHTING out there despite being broken alot.

the most important thing, is you hung in there & WON!!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS QUEEN JUSTINE!!!!!!!!!!!!! :worship: :woohoo:

on to the CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND!!!!!!

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so proud of u!!!!!!!!

love u!!!!!


Love your posts!!! I can tell that BLUE is your favorite color. Guess mine! :lol::lol::angel::wavey:

Rest your ankle, Jelena.
You're doing yourself no favours, in the long run, if you keep playing on it.

Janky :crying2: :crying2: :crying2:

They've played three matches, and all three times JJ won the first set, and had a chance for win :( Pitty. Injurie did it's job :(

JuJu win it now :yeah: I'm sure you will :angel:

Well done Jelena!!!! Despite she lost, she showed fantastic fighting spirit and did everything she could considering that she played practicly on one leg. But, if something is good about this result is that Jelena will have more time to rest and totaly recover for Indian Wells.

Yes, I agree. :wavey: She is a true fighter. :worship: I'm really proud of her. And yes, I know, it was some kind of improvidence playing with that injury but anyway. But now is the time to take a rest to fully recover her ankle. And than JJ can fully attack again. TOP 5 is just around the corner for her. I'm really looking forward. :)

Expected win by Justine

justine win this tournament and rest up for miami,funny enough justine has never done well at the miami meeting.:(

Queen Justine prevails!

:woohoo:
take the title:)

Oh, and Mother Marjorie notes that it happends when Kim isn't injured, either. :wavey::worship: Spot on as always! :lol:

Wow, that last set was most fugly tennis.

6 breaks in a row?

But congrats justine! Good luck tomorrow!

Jelena :sad: :hug:

miami is never her favaourite place i think....something about she's sad ...(very near to her mom's death anniversary)
but ju you go girl! win that dubai and get that harley!

Henin reaches final after defeating Jankovic, to face Kuznetsova in final

March 2, 2007

DOHA, Qatar (AP) -- Top-seeded Justine Henin rallied to beat fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic of Serbia 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 on Friday to advance to the final of the Qatar Open.

Henin will play Saturday against second-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova, who had one break in the first set and three in the second to beat sixth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova 6-4, 6-2 in the other semifinal.

It will be the second Doha final for Kuznetsova, who lost in 2004 to compatriot Anastasia Myskina.

Henin, who won the Dubai Open last Saturday, was happy to have had a difficult workout.

"It was a tough match," she said. "I need matches like this to get my game up to the level I want. I don't mind spending a long time on the court." :worship: :bowdown:

Henin struggled with the cold and windy weather and the aftereffects of a fierce daylong sandstorm.

"It was very difficult on the court for me because I wear contacts and it's a problem when the sand gets into the eyes," Henin said.

Jankovic, who won in Auckland earlier this year, was broken in the first game of the opening set, but broke back in the eighth game to tie the score.

The two players then exchanged breaks before Jankovic won the tiebreaker in which Henin took five points after trailing 0-4. Henin then broke Jankovic three times in the second set.

"I played very well in the second set -- it really gave me confidence," Henin said.

The first three games of the decider went with serve, but the next seven ended in breaks.

The 10th-ranked Jankovic, whose ankle injury from Dubai last week had by then flared up, found it difficult to move comfortably, allowing Henin to break the Serb in the 10th game and move into the final.

"My ankle was painful," Jankovic said. "I was struggling to move around. I was lot slower than normal. I will consult a doctor before I play my next tournament."

"My ankle was painful," Jankovic said. "I was struggling to move around. I was lot slower than normal. I will consult a doctor before I play my next tournament." At last! :woohoo::o

Congrats to Justine, she pulled through yet again.
Well I don't want to be presumptuous but I guess Doha is hers.

Congrats on the Doha title Justine!

hope she wont play iw
btw justine you were very lucky today

So it seems that the weather had much to do with the inconsistancy. Sand storms don^t help either-lol!! Hopefully the weather, and tennis, will be better tomorrow. Anyhow, a Win is a Win! It would be ironic if Sveta gets her second win against Justine, where she got her first an only one. Am rooting for Justine, but would not be unhappy if Sveta won. I would rather Justine lose to Sveta than Hantucova, a one tournament wonder!

She's tired too, Ju. It's just back to the days where she literally fought to win matches rather than played brilliantly throughout.

Yup, 2005 form. ;) Where she played shitty in the early rounds and did just enough, then played brillantly in the finals against the top players. I take that form over 2006 where she played great in the early rounds, and got tired and played shit in the finals.

Well done Justine!
Jelena.

At last! :woohoo::o

:lol: yeah about time hey!!!

At last! :woohoo::o

By the way mirza will be out atleast few weeks and if its something seriosu then even 3 to 6 months..:sad:

i think jelena always plays one good set against juju then when juju ups her game jelena kinda runs out of ideas

Justine looked somewhere near her best in the final last week (to my eyes anyway) - her serve rock solid, not broken once. What's happened to the serve this week? Is is still windy over there?

I agree. That final was quallity stuff.
I think Justine might be a bit tired. She might not be quite as fit as she usually is, not supricing all considered. Her preparation for the season cant have been ideal . She plays great tennis in spurs.

Maybe two weeks of hard matches is cathing up on her?

By the way mirza will be out atleast few weeks and if its something seriosu then even 3 to 6 months..:sad:


Let's hope it nothing seriou:)

I want to se more of her:hearts:

Allez Justine!

Congratulations Ju, you fought well :yeah:

:kiss: Good luck against Svetlana Kuznetsova !

justine, go take the title.

Nice win JUJU :D :kiss:

Jelena :crying2:

Jelena WHY:(

Justine :yeah: :worship:

Jelena :hug: :sad: Rest up, now. :hug:

I still think JJ should be in the final !!! :crying2:

Jelena :sad:

Congrats Justine :yeah:

Good luck in the final now