Justine Henin-Hardenne defeats Kuznetsova for Roland Garros Trophy
Posted by Aaress Lawless on Jun 10, 2006 | Print |
World number five Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium dazzled her way to a third career Roland Garros ladies tennis title today in Paris, with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Henin-Hardenne, who was seeded fifth in the Grand Slam event, overcame the heat and dry conditions in Paris to defeat No. 8 seed Kuznetsova in straight sets.
Henin-Hardenne scored the first break of serve in the opening game of the match, and quickly raced to a 4-1 lead over eighth-seeded Kuznetsova. Her brilliant match play threw the Russian off-balance and Kuznetsova allowed her nerves to control her game. Toward the end of the first set, Kuznetsova recovered her confidence, but Henin-Hardenne was able to close the set out 6-4.
Kuznetsova refused to go down without a fight and broke Henin-Hardenne’s serve once in the second set, but the 2003 and 2005 champion hung on to win her fifth career major title.
A jubilant Henin-Hardenne hoisted the Suzanne Lenglen trophy after her win, and expressed gratitude to her husband Pierre-Yves Hardenne, her long time coach Carlos Rodriguez, and her fans.
With her win today in Paris, Henin-Hardenne should see her ranking jump to number three in the world.
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