Tiebreak Victories Give Francesca Schiavone Win Against Justine Henin
Posted by Aaress Lawless on Feb 28, 2008 | Print |
Image courtesy of Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships
Two-time defending champion Justine Henin tumbled out of the 2008 Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships on Thursday at the hands of Italy’s Francesca Schiavone.
Schiavone pulled the biggest upset of the tournament by knocking out the top seed in two close sets.
Double tie-break victories gave Schiavone a chance to prove her mettle by ousting Henin 7-6(3), 7-6(4).
Second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova reached the semifinals earlier in the day with a solid 6-1, 7-6(4) win over her doubles partner Amelie Mauresmo. Fourth seed Jelena Jankovic advanced after sixth seed Anna Chakvetadze retired with a left thigh injury after losing the first set 6-1.
The final semifinalist in Dubai will be either third seed Ana Ivanovic or eighth seed Elena Dementieva.
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Richard | Feb 28, 2008 | Reply
Given the way Henin is playing, that’s not too much of a shock. Her last match with the Slovak girl proved that she will probably lose very soon to a better focused player, and when Schiavone is on, she plays like a Top 5. That only happens to her like, once a month though, otherwise her ranking wouldn’t be so low.
And Elena beat Ana. Yes!
Nick | Feb 29, 2008 | Reply
Yeah I wasn’t shocked either, Henin 2008 is starting out with a bang in a bad way…
Anyway, she should rest and head into Miami with a full mind.
Alice | Mar 1, 2008 | Reply
Maybe people expect too much of Henin. The womens game doesnt have a Federer. In fact, maybe the mens game doesnt have a Federer either!