Joined
·
22,715 Posts
The rivalry between Justine Henin-Hardenne, left, and Kim Clijsters has helped make women's tennis interesting.
WTA Tour Gets Back Its Edge
By SELENA ROBERTS
A SUITABLE replacement for Martina Hingis has been as hard to find as pleated skirts on the women's tennis tour. After all, who can replicate her heartwarming Chucky-doll grin, the carefree way she hurled vases at Anna Kournikova's mane and her lovely attention to detail as she insulted her opponents?
Sniff, sniff, Hingis has been missed. In her absence, the Williams sisters have numbed everyone with kindness for the last two years, discovering that the country clubbers could cozy up to the mischievous mind of Hingis, but feel threatened by two strong, young, black women who carried themselves with heads held high.
So Serena and Venus rounded the corners on their confidence, softened the edge on their defiance and began oozing the air kisses and friendly smiles of pageant contestants. They were warm and inviting, creating a feng shui tour.
The sisters made nice with everyone, sending flowers to their old foil Hingis when she had ankle surgery two years ago, handing out compliments that were wrapped as pretty as bridesmaid's gifts to Lindsay Davenport and becoming the most congenial Nos. 1 and 2 players a charm-school teacher could imagine.
•
Suddenly, there were no more devilish digs between rivals in the news conferences, not when the top two players were sisters, not when Venus used to squeeze the toothpaste for Serena. Suddenly, there was a tennis phenomenon on the court, but little fan satisfaction as each major ended in the inevitable and awkward Venus-Serena final.
And in these moments, the WTA Tour withered. The lost intrigue has not been the fault of Venus and Serena, but because of opponents who, for a while, were willing extras on the set of the Amazing Williams Sisters.
Sadly, women's sports needs a splash of controversy to interest the fringe fan. (Refer to women's figure skating to see how prosperous scandal can be.)
Whatever it says about society — are folks only moved to the TV screen when gals wrestle each other in beer ads, on playing courts or at news conferences? — it is the way of the immature sports world.
So, get ready to rumble at the United States Open. This year, Serena won't be around Queens to purr in her on-court catsuit as she did last year, staying on the sideline to recover from an operation.
Wish a speedy return for the defending champion, and bemoan the loss of Serena's colorful personality, but take a look at a tour that is on its way to recovering its attitude in the petite shape and form of a cagey (some would say, cheatin') Belgian.
Justine Henin-Hardenne is Hingis without the sly grin. In fact, she hardly grins at all because of a childhood she describes as cruel after her mother died. While she cannot match Hingis's flair, Henin-Hardenne does prod opponents into fits of rage — even when the opponent is her cuddly countrywoman, Kim Clijsters.
A week ago, Clijsters accused Henin-Hardenne of faking an injury during the final of the Acura Classic in Carlsbad, Calif. To allegedly cool off her opponent's momentum, Henin-Hardenne took an injury timeout for blisters after dropping the first set to Clijsters. Medical miracles of medical miracles, Henin-Hardenne rallied for the title.
"It's not the first time that it's happened, so I'm getting kind of used to it," Clijsters told reporters after the match. "She has probably done that in every match I've played against her. It's a matter of knowing if she's doing it for an injury or another reason."
Henin-Hardenne was indignant over Clijsters's implication of fakery, telling Reuters, "She's disappointed she lost, that's the only reason she's saying this. I don't know why all the players are talking about the incidents in my matches because I think I'm a fair player."
Think again. Before Blistergate, there was Henin-Hardenne's French Open incident on the way to her upset of Serena. During the match, with the French crowd rudely mocking Serena's every mistake on the court, Henin-Hardenne put up a hand for time as her opponent served.
Naturally, Serena saw it, served the ball in the net, and rightly expected a first serve again. But the umpire didn't see Henin-Hardenne's internationally televised hand signal, and the Belgian kept silent as Serena stewed.
Although rattled by Henin-Hardenne's brazenness, Serena didn't use the moment as an excuse for her loss, but she did say, "to start lying and fabricating, it's not fair."
What's fair? Henin-Hardenne will cry. Is it fair that she stands 5 feet 5 inches with Dr. Scholl's in her sneakers or that she weighs only 120 pounds with rocks in her pockets? Is it fair that she has to conjure swashbuckling backhands just to match the brutish big hitters of the game?
"I think all these players don't like it that I'm not so strong and tall and am not the same-looking players as them," Henin-Hardenne said. "They don't like to see me running all over the court and having power, too. Mentally, it's hard for them to compete against me."
So there, all you Blutos of the game. Wrong or right, cheater or competitor, Henin-Hardenne has given a bite to the women's tour not felt since Hingis took her Chucky-doll ways and went home. She is not a replica of the Swiss diva, but a suitable replacement.
