By Chris Chase
Who: (1) Serena Williams v. Justine Henin
What: Australian Open women's final
Where: Melbourne, Australia; Rod Laver Arena
When: 3:30 a.m. ET (Saturday morning)
Five things to watch: 1. Williams and Henin have combined to win 18 Grand Slams throughout their careers, making this the most heavily-decorated final since Steffi Graf last won a major in the previous century. Amazingly -- and this is truly amazing -- this is the first time the women have met in a Slam final. Serena leads the all-time series, 7-6.
2. The contrasts should make for a fascinating match, should you be able to stay awake for its start. Serena's firepower against Henin's efficient groundstrokes. Serena's booming serves against Henin's erratic tosses. Serena's heavily-bandaged legs against Henin's tired ones.
3. The most infamous match between the two came in the semifinals of the French Open in 2003. Henin won in three, after which Serena left the court crying and accusing the Belgian of "cheating, lying and fabricating." Their post-match handshake was as cold as you'll see and earned Serena boos from the fans at Roland Garros:
4. Serena ran into another Belgian on the comeback trail during the last Grand Slam, losing that infamous match to Kim Clijsters at the 2009 U.S. Open. Few expected Clijsters to beat Serena that evening, much for the same reasons that Henin is the considerable underdog in this match: In only her second tournament people wonder whether she can stand up to the grind of a seventh match in 12 days.
5. Make an argument for either Serena or Justine and I wouldn't argue. No result -- Henin in blowout, Henin in three, Serena in blowout, Serena in three -- would surprise me. But when Serena has the passion it's tough to beat her. I think the incident at the U.S. Open focused her on getting back on track in Melbourne which is why Busted Racquet predicts: Serena Williams in two sets.
News Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/blog/busted_racquet/post/Williams-Henin-Previewing-the-women-s-Australia;_ylt=AmACvacC.B6di.fcIqYb8lE5nYcB?urn=ten,216495
0 comments: on "Williams-Henin: Previewing the women's Australian Open final"
Post a Comment