Justine Henin Dazzles Under the Lights at the US Open, Sets Up Serena Showdown
Posted by Aaress Lawless on Sep 2, 2007 | Print |
After seven days of action at the 2007 US Open, it was perfectly understandable to start wondering when world number one Justine Henin would play in a night session.
But for Justine Henin, the seven days might have been a little too soon.
She may be the Tour’s top player, but Henin has long shunned the limelight and electricity associated with the tennis season’s last Slam. Give her a chance to compete at her beloved Paris, on Centre Court in London, or even in the warm temperatures of Australian Open and she is blissfully content.
Schedule her for a night session at the US Open, in the United States’ busiest city, and you won’t see a player basking in the night session, playing it up for the crowd, or willing to put on a good - sometimes known as long - show for the fans.
For Justine Henin, it is all about business, and the sooner it is finished the better.
She was a woman on a mission tonight in the fourth round, and completely embarrassed fifteenth seed Dinara Safina with a demoralizing 6-0, 6-2 victory.
Safina’s double-fault in the first point of the match hinted that it might be a quick encounter, and after fifty-nine minutes, it was all over.
Ironically, what was expected to be her toughest match on the way to the quarterfinals proved out to be the easiest. She has not been tested at all in Flushing Meadows this season, and has only dropped eleven games in four matches.
Justine is more than willing to admit that the environment in New York makes it difficult for her to focus, and has said that this is one of the more challenging events to win.
“It takes a lot of energy,” Henin said. “Crazy New York. There is a lot of attention. It’s a big show here.”
The big show atmosphere bothered Henin so much that a few years ago she actually hated playing at night.
“A few years ago I did hate to play the night session,” admitted Henin. “That was something I was really scared about - playing in the night - because of my contacts, because you are a little bit more tired, it’s later in the day, and you have to wait the whole day.”
“Then when I became No. 1 for the first time at the end of 2003, the next few months after I had to play a lot in the night session, so I probably got used to it. It’s something that I like pretty much now.”
Although she has gotten over her initial dread of the evening session and even enjoys it to an extent, she still does not want to make a habit of playing at night.
“I don’t like to do it many times in a row,” added Justine.
With the way Justine is competing now, she may be headed for the most electric and thrilling night session in all of women’s tennis - the final on Saturday night.
She has cruised through the draw for the past week, but on Tuesday, she will be up against her toughest opponent of all, Serena Williams. They have played each other three times this season with Justine holding a 2-1 edge.
Both of those wins came at Grand Slams - in the quarterfinals.
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