From The Herald Sun: Henin-Hardenne's marriage breaks up
JUSTINE Henin-Hardenne's shock withdrawal from the Australian Open was triggered by the collapse of her marriage, according to Belgian media.
La Meuse, a Belgian paper, yesterday carried reports that world champion Henin-Hardenne is separating from her husband Pierre-Yves Hardenne...
Very mysterious...hopefully nothing too terrible.
From The Age: Henin-Hardenne withdraws for 'personal reasons'
WORLD No. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne is the Australian Open's first major withdrawal — her absence confirmed 10 days before the grand slam starts but an elaboration on the supposed "personal reasons" behind her non-appearance is still to come...
Continue reading "Henin-Hardenne Put of Australian Open for Personal Reasons" »
First Kim, now Justine...
"I think I’ll play two years more, if my own body lets me do that... I still think my best tennis is still to come." - Justine Henin-Hardenne
(From Tennis.com's JHH quote highlights from today's press conference in Madrid)
This weekend's semifinal tie, part 1, has a nice patina to it: old battle lines redrawn as (ex-) Soviets battle Americans in Russia. You can bet the Bryan Brothers have been salivating at the chance to get their own back against Misha Youzhny for kicking them to the curb in NY, and Misha's ready to get his back against Roddick who was so irritatingly emphatic in offing him in the US Open semis. Despite Davydenko's apparent fatigue and Safin's...Safinitis, it's hard to imagine Roddick and Blake, both allergic to dirt courts, making a real run in red country on even redder clay. So what if communism failed! Russia's got a good chance at the Davis Cup.
However, it seems that Pravda is back to playing mind games--suggesting that Anastasia Myskina is crushing on James Blake--are they trying to facilitate a hook up? Hmm. Could be an amusing couple--ever congenial Blake with Myskina's mouth (witness one of my favorite press conferences--her amusing but bitch-tastic comments re: Jelena Jankovic at Wimbledon).
It's unlikely that the Davis Cup tie will yield as big a surprise as last weekend's Fed Cup, where Italy took out Belgium in the final, basically when an injured Justine Henin-Hardenne had to retire from the doubles. What I don't understand is why they don't just sub someone else in as needed. I mean, come on, folks--it's team tennis. It just seems such a shame when this sort of thing happens. Before the Justine haters add their two cents, I want to say that it was impossible not to feel gutted for H-H when she forfeited; she had the most forlorn look on her face--the abject frustration of people who are often betrayed by their bodies. Hugs. Her knee injury will keep her out until November.
Anyway, Davis Cup starts on Friday. The other semi features Lleyton Hewitt and his armed guard taking on a Gaudio- and Coria-less Argentine squad--who else is hoping that David Nalbandian, who's been talking lots of shite re taking out the Aussies, finally finds his game, which has been missing all season?
Other interesting match ups: Federer is sweeping in to save the day to ensure Switzerland stays in the World Group. He'll be handing a beatdown to the Serbian and Montenegran team (Novak Djokovic and crew)--possibly in a near empty home stadium. Italy v. Spain (Nadal is playing despite the recent injury that kept him out of Beijing), and Germany vs. Thailand (Paradorn Srichaphan, literally the most zen player on tour vs. the player with the most nervous energy--that means you, Tommy Haas!).
How did this post get so long? Oh, right. That's what happens when you blog at 3am.
You can follow all the scores and catch Davis Cup radio at www.daviscup.com; I'll post live streaming links once the appear.
Well, Shark-apova did it. As much as I prefer Justine's game and am irritated by the shriekiness, I've got to hand it to Maria for coming out, guns blazing. Sure she's a cash whore, but the girl's got a champion's heart and drive. Kudos!
But have you guys read/seen Maria's post-match press conference? I saw it on The Tennis Channel, but the transcript is up. Lots of banana and on-court coaching talk--apparently her hitting partner/coach Michael Joyce held up four fingers. Sharapova, clearly irritated, dodged the question several times. I didn't see the majority of the match, so I missed it. Did anyone catch this? And was it clear on-court coaching?
ETA: Pete Bodo has a great column on Sharapova's win over at tennis.com.
Martina Navratilova also went out on top, winning the Mixed Doubles title thanks to some clutch serving by Bob Bryan and her own deft touch. And so ends the career of possibly the greatest tennis player of all time. Bravo, Martina!
I miss Misha Youzhny. But am pleased for Federer-Roddick. Fed has looked a little shaky and Roddick has looked crisper and more obnoxious than ever...but may the best Swiss win. Can't wait til tomorrow!
Eurosport's got a great video wrap of yesterday's action, with interviews as well with Mauresmo, Henin-Hardenne, Jankovic, and more.
Well, yesterday was just balls out tennis, folks. Mauresmo's incredible comeback after losing the 2nd set to Serena 0-6; Tommy Haas' marathon win over Robby Ginepri (whose ranking will now take a steep tumble into oblivion); the resurrection of Marat Safin, as well as Lleyton Hewitt prevailing over Richie Gasquet in a 5-setter that seems to be an instant classic (I wouldn't know, of course. Silly me fell 
asleep at 3-1 in the 5th and missed the 2 matchpoints Gasquet saved that seem to have converted all of NYC into Francophiles. Damn. It.). Also Kuznetsova falling to the charismatic primadonna Jelena Jankovic, Davenport squashing Schnyder, and Justine Henin-Hardenne making a bid for her own Federer-like H-H Express with a comprehensive beatdown of Shahar Pe'er. Who can stop that train?
Hmm, that's all yesterday stuff, isn't it. On to tuesday, which should be another stellar day of match play:
How much fun will Tommy Haas v. Marat Safin be? I mean, these guys can turn up the court crazy like nobody else. The two of them together? I'll need to take a valium just to sit through it. I'm picking Safin over Haas, mostly because I want a few more press conferences from the gloomy and ever quotable Russian.
I'm going to pick Blake over Berdych in the trickiest 4th round match; Murray over Davydenko in a very very tight one, Federer over Giquel (duh). I think Jankovic is ready for her close up and will upset Dementieva; and sorry, Lindsay, but Justine's unstoppable. Just like the Citizen Eco-Drive watch and the people who wear it. Unstoppable.
Well, the USTA is nutty. They've got Lindsay Davenport playing Monday afternoon--and Justine Henin-Hardenne playing first on center court. Why not give them an extra day or two to settle in? I mean, come on, the first round is played over 3 days! Grrr.
Andre Agassi begins (and hopefully doesn't end) his farewell to the Open tomorrow night at 7pm EST on center court, against Andrei Pavel. Roddick, Ljubicic v. Lopez, Vaidisova, and Gasquet are all playing Monday, too. Here's the schedule.
I just watched Lindsay Davenport's post-match interview with Mary Carillo and it was really hard to watch. You can tell she's holding back tears...oh god, I hope she's ok for the US Open! ETA: Read 'Injured Davenport hopes to be fit for US Open'
But congratulations to Justine Henin-Hardenne who played just gorgeous, gorgeous tennis. I know I've said it before--I can't completely dislike her, despite the poor sportsmanship in the past. She's just got too much game in that tiny frame. David vs. Goliath(s) indeed. So Justine wins it 6-0 1-0 Ret.
Who can stop her in NYC? Doubtful that anyone can.
The situation in Montreal is looking bad: right on the heels of Amelie Mauresmo's (shoulder) and Venus Williams' (wrist) withdrawals yesterday, Justine Henin-Hardenne (knee) and Patty Schnyder also pulled out.
If Sharapova does well this week, she could pull out of the Rogers Cup after such a great 2 week run-- which would leave Clijsters, Hingis and Pierce as the big draws--and Pierce and Clijsters are at not 100% right now.
Here's Matt Cronin on this summer's and last summer's problems with pullouts.
Justine Henin-Hardenne is out of the Acura Classic event which starts July 31, with a right knee injury. She'll be replaced by Tatiana Golovin.
Sampras in Connecticut: At one point before he served, the quiet Sampras drew laughter from the crowd when a Pearl Jam song was briefly played on the PA system. He stopped his toss and said to the soundman, "That’s the best thing you played all night." Read 'Sampras Takes on the FoxForce' .
Henin-Hardenne may boycott the Fed Cup Final. Here's the story.
Justine Henin-Hardenne pulled out of Belgium's Fed Cup tie against the US team yeserday. "Justine doesn't feel the freshness that will be required in her attacking game to be on court," she said through her website.
Justine has played an exhaustive stretch of tennis over the past few months...but, come on, one week is not enough to recuperate and play 2 home matches (or even just one) for your country--against Jamea Jackson and/or Jill Craybas?
Well, you can be sure the henin-hardenne hate is flowing. But I guess this is an opening for the neophyte American team, which is also lacking the top American women. Here's the Fed Cup tie info.
What a spectacular win! Who else is in tears for amelie (I mean besides momofan ;-))?
Here's Wimbledon's match summary. Here's the BBC's wrap up, with post-match video interviews.
ETA: No More Talk about Amelie's Nerves / Amelie's interview / Justine's interview / Exorcising demons of doubt (don't miss the video of Amelie's press conference, etc. here; thanks, momofan!).
Here's what President Jacques Chirac had to say to Amelie: "Bravo! It was magnificent! What a performance, and what elegance!"
I love the French!
Like momofan, I'm bouncing off the walls re: Mauresmo finally making it through the semis. And how thrilling to have an Australian Open rematch (maybe the first of 2?) after all of the controversy with Justine's retirement. With two such complete players in the final, it should be a spectacular match. That is assuming, of course, that Mauresmo and Henin-Hardenne can both keep their stomachs together.
Mauresmo d. Sharapova 6-3 3-6 6-2
Amelie dominated Maria, and could have taken her out 6-1 in the second (she had Sharapova 0-40 to go up 2 breaks and choked on the breakpoints) if she had held her nerve. Of course, she didn't--but no matter. She came out steely after a bathroom break to go up 4-0 in the 3rd. Just gorgeous tennis for the most part from Amelie.
Here are a match report / Sharapova's interview / Mauresmo's interview.
Henin-Hardenne d. Clijsters 6-4 7-6(4)
Did anyone doubt this outcome? Didn't think so.
Here are a match report / Clijster's interview / Henin-Hardenne's interview.
Mauresmo(1) v. Sharapova(4)
It'll be interesting to see how Amelie's agility, variety and old school net play match up with Sharapova's Power Shots. It'll be even more interesting to see how Mauresmo's nerves contend with Sharapova's Iron Will. I think it'll either be really close, or a steamroll by Maria.
Clijsters(2) v. Henin-Hardenne(3)
I really just can't see Clijsters pulling this one out after her dismal display at Roland Garros. Even if Kim does come out to play, I'd still say Justine, easily. Granted, I'd pick Justine if she and Kim met in a back alley knife fight, too. Hell, I'd pick Justine in a back alley knife fight against most people. Yeah, she's hard to like, but the girl is tough.
Here's the BBC on the match ups and a couple of articles below.
Mauresmo exudes air of calm as she awaits Sharapova showdown
Few players are as honest about their shortcomings as Amélie Mauresmo. After sealing a place in the last four of Wimbledon with a scrappy 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 win over Anastasia Myskina yesterday, she cheerfully admitted to being both nervous and impatient against the talented Russian. Read 'Mauresmo's calm'
Belgian show of fire and ice hits the lawns for first time
There are rivals who embrace with affection and others who put their arms round one another in the manner of Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty on the Reichenbach Falls before their grapple took them over the edge to their presumed deaths.
Somewhere in between come the Belgians Justine Henin-Hardenne and Kim Clijsters. Read 'Belgian Show'
Sports Illustrated has a really good profile, of Justine, with an in depth look at her history of poor sportsmanship, her and Amelie's thoughts on the Mauresmo Affair, and her break from her family.
Hard to Figure: Henin-Hardenne Inspires Contradictory Emotions
ETA: After reading that, I wanted a closer look at Justine's history; so here's a fansite bio. Yes, it does lean Justine's way, but I didn't realize just how tough it's been for her, even after her mom's lost battle with cancer. Her family didn't even come to her wedding...that's really sad.
*picture from http://justinehenin.tk/
Henin-Hardenne wins Eastbourne in a 3rd set tiebreak over Myskina; Gasquet becomes the first man ever to defend Nottingham with a 6-4 6-3 win over Bjorkman, Michaela Krajicek straight-setted Dinara Safina at Ordina (a day after beating Dementieva! What a week.), and Ancic defended Ordina in 3 sets against Jan Hernych.
Great article from Chris Clarey in the NY Times about The Justine Problem.
Winning Over Fans Is New Challenge for Henin-Hardenne
She, too, is the most complete player of her generation, at ease in all areas of the court. She, too, is the most stylish player of her generation, with her sweeping and versatile one-handed backhand and sleek footwork.
She, too, has won all but one of the Grand Slam singles titles. Justine Henin-Hardenne has much of what it takes to be a female version of Roger Federer. What she lacks are his robust health and robust popularity. Read 'Winning Fans'
Here's the women's draw. Venus landed at the bottom of Mauresmo's quarter of the draw and so did 14th seed Dinara Safina. Other trouble spots: a newly brunette Tatiana Golovin and Ana Ivanovic who's already beaten Amelie this year. Michaela Krajicek, who's still having a great week in Nottingham, is a potential 2nd round match up for Mauresmo.
Sharapova's section looks pretty straightforward until Dementieva in the quarters, though Schiavone, Sania Mirza, and Danilidou, who made the semis at the Ordina Open, could add some spice.
Hingis, Hantuchova, Jamea Jackson and Patty Schnyder are in Justine Henin-Hardenne's section of the draw. Will be interesting to see if Hingis can reach the massive roadblock that is Justine.
At the bottom of the draw, there are a few threats between #5 seed Kuznetsova and #2 seed Kim Clijsters: Vaidisova, Na Li and Kirilenko.
News: Petrova's pulled out with her lingering groin injury from the French.
Nottingham: Defending champ Richard Gasquet KO'd countryman Gilles Simon in 3 and 1; Italian Andreas Seppi beat Andy Murray in 3; Robin Soderling, who has yet to drop a set, over Tipsarevic in 2, and Bjorkman over Lopez. I'm gonna go with Gasquet to repeat his win.
At the Ordina Open, Men's, it'll be defending champ Mario Ancic v. Marcos Baghdatis (making his first semi since Australia) and Jan Hernych vs. Forent Serra (who took out JC Fererro in 3). The women: Elena Demetieva, Danilidou, Dinara Safina and Michaela Krajicek. I'm going with Ancic and Safina.
Eastbourne: It'll be Henin-Hardenne vs. Clijsters and Kuznetsova v. Myskina. I'm going with Kuznetsova over Henin-Hardenne in the final.
Looking for a reason to not dislike Justine? Here are two: Bodo's An Icy Kind of Beauy / Tignor's 'Revenge'
Henin-Hardenne over Kuznetsova in straight sets. Svetlana had a streak in the second where it looked like she could turn it around, but no luck. Well, Congrats to Justine, who is clearly the most complete female player out there today. Congrats to Kuznetsova on making it to her first Roland Garros Final.
Just 69 minutes, and with fewer than 50% of her first serves in. Clijsters didn't come out to play today. Oh well. Looking ahead, Henin-Hardenne is 10-1 lifetime over Svetlana Kuznetsova. For some reason I still think Kuznetsova will win it.
Nice article running down the history between defending French Open Champion Justine Henin-Hardenne and world number 2 (soon to be number 1?) Kim Clijsters, along with some preview quotes from each of them about each other. Peter Bodo has the tabloid version ;-).
Bud Collins' is going for Roger Federer to finally put all the puzzle pieces together over Rafael Nadal on Sunday and for Venus to make the finals, but lose to a Belgian.
Choice quote:
No storybook ending for Nadal
Nadal's bid to be the last man standing in Paris for the second year in a row is certainly a serious one, but I just don't see a repeat for the Spanish sensation.
I can’t see anyone in Nadal's half of the draw knocking him out en route to the final, but in my gut, I feel it will be Federer waiting for him on championship Sunday. And I see the Basel Dazzle putting an end to Nadal's lengthy and super impressive clay-court winning streak.
I've thought I wouldn't ever be able to forgive Henin-Hardenne twice already: The shady incident of outright lying in the French Open semi vs. Serena in 2003; and then the suspect tummy ache at the Australian Open. However, every time I watch her play I want to give her the benefit of the doubt because she's just got such a ridiculous amount of game. Her backhand is better than Gasquet's, and Gasquet's is celestial.
Henin-Hardenne Ready to Prove She's No Quitter
IT WILL probably remain one of the least agreeable and least predictable sights of this sporting year: Justine Henin-Hardenne, one of life's great fighters, throwing in the towel in the final of the Australian Open instead of going down fighting like a true champion. Read On...
I was critical of what Justine Henin-Hardenne did in the Australian Open final -- pulling out of the match against Amelie Mauresmo in the second set because of stomach pains. My respect level for her disintegrated by what she did on the court as well as her stoic demeanor in the post-match news conference. I said her reputation would be tarnished forever and tennis beat writers would never let her forget this.
But, you know what? Henin-Hardenne doesn't really care what people think about her. Read On...
I wonder how the French will receive Justine, after the whole Australian Open fiasco. If she plays Amelie, which could happen in the Final, I'm expecting fireworks. Justine's always got a huge contingent of fans from nearby Belgium coming in to support her and it could get ugly fast, especially since most of these Belgians and the French understand each other perfectly.
At Roland Garros, Women's Tennis Searches for a Leader
Almost halfway through 2006, women's tennis remains upsidedown.
So far this year, three different women have held the no. 1 ranking. Amelie Mauresmo, the current no.1,won her first major title in Australia after Justine Henin-Hardenne retired with what was officially scored as a "gastrointestinal illness." Nadia Petrova, who dumped her coach in Australia because he was not "tough" enough, is now ranked no. 3 and has the most wins on the tour in 2006. Maria Sharapova is the second-best Russian, while Serena Williams, the most talented woman in the world, is the 14th-best American, ranked a lowly no. 108. And Martina Hingis has returned from a three-year retirement and moved quickly into the top 15. Read On...
ETA: I didn't know Justine kept a diary on her site. Here it is.
For the french speakers, Henin-Hardenne discusses defending her title.
From the Los Angeles Times: This Belgian is Vanilla, But Her Game is Not
Justine Henin-Hardenne, the top-seeded woman at the Pacific Life Open tennis tournament, waltzed through one of those early-round matches Monday that receives little attention and deserves even less. Her 6-0, 6-0 victory over Aiko Nakamura of Japan took 56 minutes and, by the time it ended, had nearly emptied the 16,100-seat Indian Wells Garden.
It wasn't Henin-Hardenne's fault that her opponent couldn't play.But it is unfortunate that her stature on the tour is often measured by things other than her results.
Justine Henin-Hardenne has apparently passed the point in her career when she can ever hope to be totally healthy again.
Her current worries include shoulder tendinitis that prevents her from practicing her serve and which she expects to have to deal with for the rest of her career - and an ulcer. Yikes.
From The Desert Sun: Henin-Hardenne hopes for healthy shot at winning again
For better or worse, Justine Henin-Hardenne made a vow to stay healthy this year to get back to world No. 1.
That's where she was when she won the Pacific Life Open in 2004, but for the past two years she's battled multiple health problems with her knee, stomach, and shoulder that often kept her out of tournaments and, in some cases, away from the game for months...
You can't win with the press. If you do a ton of marketing like Maria Sharapova you're criticized for not caring about tennis.
But a player like Justine Henin-Hardenne, who doesn't appear to spend too much time worrying about how to improve her marketing image, is treated as an oddity.
From the San Diego Union-Tribune: Henin-Hardenne's name is in her game
She's not the plain Jane of women's tennis, she's the plain Justine. And it doesn't have to be.
Behold Justine Henin-Hardenne. As she presented herself yesterday at a media function offered as a herald of the Pacific Life Open, her skin was flawless, her features were nicely arranged and her grooming was immaculate.
From Reuters: I should never have played Australian Open final
Justine Henin-Hardenne believes she should never have attempted to start the Australian Open final against Amelie Mauresmo because she was too ill.
"Now I can think about what happened in Melbourne I have the feeling I should never have walked on the court because it could have been dangerous for me," the Belgian told reporters.
"It's not good to play with your health because you just have one life and you have many tennis tournaments."...
Continue reading "Henin-Hardenne Says She Shouldn't Have Played Australian Open Final At All" »
From the BBC: Henin-Hardenne back in training
Justine Henin-Hardenne has returned to training for the first time since pulling out of the Australian Open final against Amelie Mauresmo.
"It was really tough to have finished like that," said Henin-Hardenne. "I have tendonitis in a shoulder and have never had such stomach pain as that.
"But if I hadn't taken the anti-inflammatories I would never have made it so far in the tournament."
The Belgian aims to return in the Dubai event, starting on 20 February.
She added: "I am still not 100%, but I should get back to full fitness quite rapidly."
Thanks to Tiffany for recommending this article. It's a couple of days old but still relevant based on the discussion going on in the comments on this blog. No sympathy at all for JH-H from Pam Shriver in this article.
From ESPN: Shriver: Henin-Hardenne's reputation is tarnished
I wasn't surprised when after the first set of the Australian Open final, Justine Henin-Hardenne went into the locker room and did what so many players do when they are losing: Take an extended bathroom break and maybe call the trainer.
It happens so often, and that's what I thought was going on.
But trailing 2-0 in the second set, when she took that first step to the net after the injury time out and said she couldn't continue, that's when my stomach hit the floor.
I knew there had to be someone. I don't agree with him, but it was weird having 100% tennis media agreement on anything.
From The Age: Conspiracy theories on walkover are a nonsense
MY FIRST thought when I saw Justine Henin-Hardenne lean on the net post and tell the chair umpire she could not continue the Australian Open women's final was: "She must be really hurt." The distress on her face a few moments later confirmed it.
That's because Henin-Hardenne is a bulldog, renowned as such around the world of tennis. One look at the way she plays and you will pick that up. She's smaller than most of her opponents but she has passion to burn, not to mention a backhand to die for. She doesn't tank and she doesn't hand victories away.
Continue reading "Finally Someone Sticks Up for Henin-Hardenne" »
I expect there will be no shortage of editorials criticizing Justine Henin-Hardenne's decision to pull out of the Australian Open final yesterday, so we'll start with this one.
Her press conference confirmed everyone's initial impressions. Physically she could have played on, but having decided she wasn't healthy enough to win just didn't see the point. She just didn't get that it wasn't all about her.
Fans paid good money for tickets and Mauresmo obviously deserved better. The tunnel vision of the professional athlete. To a certain degree it's necessary to succeed at that level so I have some sympathy for her point of view, but it was striking to see Mauresmo have the class to go over to Justine after the retirement and check to see if she was all right. One doubts Henin-Hardenne would have done the same in her place.
Does anyone know what Henin-Hardenne and Mauresmo's relationship was like before this match? I know Justine has a reputation for being on friendlier terms with the French-speaking players than the others, but I don't know whether Mauresmo and JH-H were on good terms.
And I'd just like to put a thank you in to Bud Collins for coming straight out and asking Mauresmo whether she thought Justine was unprofessional for pulling out the way she did. Mauresmo's decision not to answer - "I don't want to start a controversy" or something of that sort - told us all we needed to know about how she feels about the issue.
From The Age: Henin's defeat hard to stomach
WE DON'T live in Justine Henin-Hardenne's body and can never know precisely how she felt, but one can only hope that she defaulted because she thought she couldn't play any longer, not because of a calculation that she couldn't win.
You would like to think that Henin-Hardenne's queasiness was not in any way connected to the 6-1, 2-0 scoreline in a grand slam tournament final, that this was not a case of loser's limp travelling to the abdomen.
Continue reading "Reaction to Henin-Hardenne's Withdrawal" »
From The Australian: Justine defeats foot fault with good attitude
THREE years ago, Justine Henin-Hardenne discovered she had a floppy foot.
She would soon win at Roland Garros and the US Open. She would rise to become the best women's player in the world. She would be the toast of French-speaking Belgium. Yet she had one small, very serious flaw.Its name was tibialis anterior, a muscle which runs from the inside of the foot and attaches to the outside of the ankle. It is just one of 16 muscles in the foot. But in the case of Henin-Hardenne, it was not doing its job.
From The Age: The bedrock that Henin leans upon
JUSTINE Henin-Hardenne has one fewer opponent than she used to, so today she will play only Amelie Mauresmo in the Australian Open singles final. Not so long ago, according to her long-time coach Carlos Rodriguez, Henin-Hardenne first would have needed to beat herself.
If tennis years are like dog years, Henin-Hardenne and Rodriguez have been together for several lifetimes.
Continue reading "Henin-Hardenne's Coach: Carlos Rodriguez" »
From The Age: Boxing clever to stay the distance
MUHAMMAD Ali had two distinct phases to his career. In the first, as Cassius Clay, he was the natural who relied on his God-given speed, reflexes and primo physical condition. In phase two, as the more sagacious and weary Ali, he had little choice but to fight smarter to chop down imposing big brutes like George Foreman.
For Justine Henin-Hardenne, phase two began here in Melbourne.
From The Australian: Hingis, Justine target heavy-hitters
THE return of Martina Hingis to the WTA Tour has rekindled the debate about the power game and whether the former world No.1 will be able to cope with the heavy-hitters after three years on the sidelines.
For Justine Henin-Hardenne, who is often compared to Hingis, mainly because of her similar physique, the discussion is an irrelevance. The Belgian relishes a heavyweight contest: the harder they come, the harder they fall.Moonballs are not in her orbit; they make her uncomfortable. She wants to feed off an opponent's power, and yesterday she was starved to some degree by Hana Sromova.
Henin-Hardenne, feeling her way back into the new season after injury last year, won 7-6 (7-2) 6-1 but complained about the Czech's style.
"I wasn't feeling that great on the court, not very comfortable," the eighth seed said. "I didn't know her at all and it took me almost a set to get used to her game.
From The Daily Telegraph: Swiss Miss gets a dose of reality
FIVE-TIME grand slam champion Martina Hingis fell back to earth with a straight-sets loss to world No.8 Justine Henin-Hardenne yesterday but contends the comprehensive nature of the defeat is no reason to second guess the wisdom of her comeback.
In her first match against a top-10 player since 2002, Hingis was issued a sharp reminder of the new world pecking order by Henin-Hardenne who dispatched of the sentimental favourite at Sydney's Medibank International with an authoritative 6-3 6-3 first-round win.
"I am having no second thoughts ... I have to be patient," said Hingis.
"You never like losing to someone like Justine, I am a competitor and you just want to give it a bigger fight.
"I wish I had more to give."
It's a sign of how little we've seen of Justine Henin-Hardenne on the tennis court recently that the sight of her practicing actually made news in Sydney.
From the Sydney Morning Herald: Henin-Hardenne's return keeps workmen on their toes
A WORKMAN carrying a ladder carefully dodged one of the many tennis balls the Belgian pocket rocket smashed. As Justine Henin-Hardenne hit up for the first time on an Australian court this summer, workmen were still sprucing up the Sydney International Tennis Centre for the tournament that starts on Sunday.
Her husband, Pierre-Yves Hardenne, was her hitting partner while coach Carlos Rodriguez watched with great intent and gave her instruction every so often.
The 23-year-old moved strongly, showing no signs of the hamstring strain that has kept her off the circuit since last October. Her husband says she's feeling good and the recovery program has gone to plan.
