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US
Open
TENNISRULZ.com - Sept.2003/Wk.36
WTA BACKSPIN! by Todd Spiker
US OPEN CHAMPIONS
S: Henin-Hardenne d. Clijsters 7-5,6-1
D: Ruano-Pascual/Suarez d. Kuznetsova/Navratilova
M: Srebotnik/B.Bryan d. Krasnoroutskaya/Nestor
--------------------------
Jr.S: Kirsten Flipkens d. Michaela Krajicek
Jr.D: Cancelled
QUEEN JUSTINE
I think I'm in love with Justine Henin-Hardenne... well, at least the idea of
her. But more on that later. First, I have some unfinished business to take
care of.
FIRST... KIM
Today, I finally get to shout it from the rooftop of Tennisrulz
Headquarters. Not to be childish and say "I told you so," but... I told you so.
Okay, can we now finally lay to rest all the gibberish about Kim Clijsters
deserving her #1-ranking? To all the mealy-mouthed commentators of the past two
weeks who walked with tender feet around the issue as if she had nothing to
justify, that judging her on her checkered history of big stage chokes was
somehow unfair, let me say this: You were wrong. Just because she's "a nice
girl" doesn't, in turn, mean she can't be criticized. The truth is that while
her attitude and personality might seem good for the game, her continual
tendency to take headers off various grand slam stages is not... and the ladder
is more important than whether or not the so-called #1 player is willing to
squeegee Arthur Ashe Court during a rain delay.
The US Open eliminated any argument about whether or not Clijsters is the
"best" player in the game. She's not even close at the moment -- she's not even
the best player in Belgium. To hold that title, one must do so from head to
toe. For all of Clijsters' talent, she fails that test before it even gets to
eye level.
In Flushing Meadow on Saturday, Clijsters once again fumbled her every
advantage. In Melbourne, it was a 5-1 3rd set lead. At Wimbledon, it was an
injured opponent. In Paris, Clijsters didn't even bother to show up at all.
At the US Open, it was an odd combination of the previous three slams as
Henin-Hardenne was coming off a knock-down, drag-out SF against Jennifer
Capriati that lasted until 12:30am and kept her at the tennis center until
2:30am (she was listed as "questionable" to play at all mid-day Saturday).
Whether JHH was going to be able to put forth a full effort was debatable... yet
she quickly had Clijsters down 0-3 in the 1st set. Clijsters rallied and held
two set points at 5-4, but failed to break JHH's serve. Instead, she was broken
herself in the next game and ultimately lost the set 5-7. When she was broken
to start the 2nd (not once, but twice)... well, the scriptwriter was already
typing "FADE OUT" at that point.
So, now the image of Clijsters virtually wetting her pants at Flushing Meadow
enters the collective memory. Pardon the bathroom vulgarity, but I'm just
calling a spade a spade. To paraphrase baseball legend Yogi Berra, tennis is
90% mental... and the other 50% is physical.
Thus, Henin-Hardenne currently holds two slam titles. Serena Williams holds
two, as well. Clijsters holds zero... but she's ranked #1. Can there be any
greater example of how fallible the WTA rankings are?
And I don't want to hear any nonsense about her "consistency," either. In
the end, if a player is going to be a presence in the room when the "best
player" title is debated, the argument won't settle around how many Tier II's
she wins, but how many slams. Right now, Clijsters has exactly as many in her
column as her little sister Elke.
So, for one final time this grand slam season, I'll say it: Chew your food,
Kim. Chew your food.
Just watch Justine. She'll teach you how to do it without "disrespecting"
the game.
(Ah, that felt good. Now onto the person who actually deserves to talked about
this week.)
BUT, MORE IMPORTANTLY... JUSTINE
As I said way back when (or so it seems), I'm suddenly taken by the mere
existence of one Justine Henin-Hardenne. She's like a mummy come to life, a
thought-extinct mammal found deep in the heart of... Belgium, of all places?
In the age of power in women's tennis, where big babes rule and Martina
Hingis goes from dominant force to immediate afterthought... here's Justine.
After thirteen days of fawning over the pounding play of the bubbly, personable,
extroverted #1 who's never without a smile...there was Justine.
Yes, Justine Henin-Hardenne. A small woman, also from Belgium, who has taken
her good time in coming out of her shell over the years. She of the more
classic, varied game. She who hasn't sought the spotlight, but has managed this
past summer to get under the skin of the #1 and #3-ranked players in the world
with a wave and an injury timeout at a crucial moment... oh, and two important
wins that her opponents weren't prepared for. Serena was brought to tears in
Paris, while Clijsters charged her with faking an injury and disrepecting the
game in San Diego. Showing an appreciated touch of orneriness, JHH called the
Clijsters charge "stupid" and stated what many must know to at least be partly
true -- that the time-worn circumstance of a past "underdog" suddenly getting
the best of the "favorites" has suddenly spawned hints of resentment and
jealousy.
JHH deserves her moment. She's put herself right in the middle of the fray
for 2003's fight for #1 because of her complete offseason follow-through on a
plan to get stronger, hoping to better offset her obvious physical disadvantages
against the other top players. The plan has worked wonders. She now packs far
more power behind her shots than one would expect from someone her size, and
even her serve is an effective weapon that compliments her otherwise clever
court tactics (and, of course, that pristine backhand).
Like Clijsters, Henin-Hardenne had her troubles in big matches last year.
But, in January, ironically at the same Australian Open where Clijsters' SF
collapse against Serena planted seeds of doubt that now won't go away, JHH sowed
a garden of belief that exists eight months later.
The first signs that JHH's labors would pay dividends came when she developed
leg cramps severe enough to send her to the ground in a prone position during a
QF match against Lindsay Davenport. She managed to perservere and win a 9-7
final set. Flashforward to the US Open SF, and JHH wins another 3-hour plus,
3-set, cramps-plagued marathon. Clearly, the reverberations of Oz are still
being felt, as Henin-Hardenne likely wouldn't have believed she had the reserve
of fortitude in New York without the experience of January having proved it to
herself... just as Clijsters might not be hounded by her grand slam collapses
had she avoided the Serena Choke a round later.
On the bright side, ranking sanity will likely win out. In the 4th quarter,
Clijsters has to defend points from three titles (and one runner-up).
Henin-Hardenne won just one singles title last Fall. With Serena maybe out
until sometime in October, JHH's time to shine even brighter will soon arrive.
The chances that she'll rise to #1 at some point between now and November look
good (she currently trails Clijsters by just 330 points).
How things play out at the end of 2003 is an open question, but there can be
no legitimate turn of fortune in Clijsters' favor until next January in
Australia. That's her next TRUE proving ground. Success anywhere else will be
a mirage. Maybe she'll reverse this year's Oz fate in four months time. Maybe
not.
For now, though, Justine is the Queen and everyone else is her court. Kim?
For the moment, she's the court jester... happily entertaining the masses, but
never leaving a lasting mark. It's a simple fact that what the computer says
today is meaningless... we all saw the truth in New York.
**THE LAST FIVE BELGIAN MATCHUPS**
Berlin Final - JHH 6-4,4-6,7-5
....Clijsters blows 3 match points
---------------------------
Roland Garros Final - JHH 6-0,6-4
....Kim doesn't bother to show up
---------------------------
Netherlands Final - KC 6-7,3-0 (ret.)
....Kim wins nothing (and blows 3 set points in the 1st), but wins when JHH
retires with a hand injury to protect her Wimbledon position.
---------------------------
San Diego Final - JHH 3-6,6-2,6-3
....Clijsters fails to win the match that would have taken her to #1 a week
earlier than she ultimately made it there, then expresses a belief that JHH
faked an injury to get a competitive advantage at a crucial moment.
--------------------------
US Open Final - JHH 7-5,6-1
....Exhaustion? Phooey. JHH still handles Clijsters after KC blows 2 set
points in the 1st.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Justine Henin-Hardenne
....two slams, three Tier I's. And from head to toe, the full package in a
small box.
----------------------------
RISER: Anastasia Myskina
....the last Russian standing made her second slam QF of 2003, and she's still
(barely) the highest-ranked of the Horde.
---------------------------
SURPRISE: Francesca Schiavone
....her QF was her best slam result, and capped off a good summer.
---------------------------
VETERANS: Paola Suarez & Virginia Ruano-Pascual
....they not only took the US Open doubles title, but Suarez made her second
career slam QF and VRP became #1 in doubles for the first time in her career
(she's the 19th woman to hold the position).
--------------------------
FRESH FACE: Kirsten Flipkens
....here's another Belgian with two more slam singles titles than Kim
Clijsters. So what if they're Junior titles (Flipkens also won Wimbledon),
considering KC never won a slam singles crown as a junior, either (she was 0-1
in finals).
-------------------------
DOWN: Ai Sugiyama
....she lost her chance to close out the 4r match vs. Schiavone before the rains
ultimately extended the match to a 4-day, three-set affair that the Japanese vet
lost. Oh, and the rain forced her and partner Clijsters to pull out of the
doubles after one match, too. All in all, Ai hates the weather patterns of
North America right about now.
MATCHES
1.SF - JHH def. Capriati
....4-6/7-5/7-6. A classic. The match of the tournament and a sure-fire
nominee for Match of the Year. Capriati served for the match at 5-3 in both the
2nd and 3rd sets, and was two points from victory on eleven different
occasions. She was even up 4-1 in the 3rd, but the see-saw nature of the
3-hour, 30-minute match that lasted until 12:30am prevents me from calling this
a "choke" on Capriati's part. JHH is 15-1 in 3-setters in 2003; while Capriati
is 3-11.
---------------------------
2.Final - JHH def. Clijsters
....7-6/6-1. JHH should have been the one bordering on physical exhaustion
after her cramp-filled SF match, but it was KC's mental fatigue that proved more
daunting. Once Clijsters blew two sets points at 5-4 in the 1st, this result
was a fait accompli.
---------------------------
3.4r - Schiavone def. Sugiyama
....over a 4-day match, Sugiyama served for the match in the 2nd set before the
rains came. She was up 2-0 in the 3rd before rain came down again, but then
lost the final 6 games once play resumed.
---------------------------
4.4r - JHH def. Dinara Safina
....Henin-Hardenne played a perfect match in gaining a 6-0,5-0 lead. So what if
the final set ended up being 6-3 -- Justine's true heroics would come later.
---------------------------
5.Girls Final - Kirsten Flipkens def. Michaela Krajicek
....another Belgian?
---------------------------
HM-Doubles Final
Ruano-Pascual/Suarez def. Kuznetsova/Navratilova... Martina didn't get another
title, but she does now rise to #8 in the doubles rankings and she and
Kuznetsova seem assured of a berth in the WTA Championship field.
U.S. OPEN RAIN DELAY SPECIAL:
FROM THE MIND OF MYSKINA
[During an early delay, Anastasia eats three
doughnuts in the players lounge]
"I just want a sweet right now, something sweet, because the weather not sweet."
---------------------------
[When asked if they have doughnuts in Russia]
"Yes, yes. Not anymore upstairs, because I ate all of them."
---------------------------
[During another delay, Anastasia & friends played a card game called "Stupid"]
"Who lost they called 'stupid.' But they cheat, for sure. I have to find out
how."
---------------------------
[The next day, progress is made in Anastasia's "Stupid" learning curve]
"I won 50 bucks. I'm really happy."
1.Serena Williams (0-0)
2.Venus Williams (0-0)
3.Jelena Dokic (5-6)
4.Daniela Hantuchova (4-5)
5.Eleni Daniilidou (2-5)
BEST MATCHES
1.US Open SF - JHH def. Capriati
....4-6/7-5/7-6. Classic.
----------------------------
2.Fed Cup World Group Playoff
....Zuluaga (Colombia) def. Molik (Australia). 10-8 in the 3rd set.
----------------------------
3.San Diego F - JHH def. Clijsters
....JHH "disrepects" Kim by beating her (again).
----------------------------
HM-Toronto 3r - Krasnoroutskaya def. Clijsters
....Clijsters had just become #1, and Lina K. had lost to a 14-year old a week
earlier.
BIGGEST CHOKES
1.US Open 2r - Dokic loses to Pierce
....Dokic led 5-1 in the 3rd and served for the match twice
----------------------------
2.New Haven 2r - Zvonareva loses to Pistolesi
....Vera Z. leads 6-0,5-1 and loses?
----------------------------
3.San Diego 3r - Dementieva loses to JHH
....Dementieva led 6-4,4-2. Come on, what's a choke list without an appearance
by Punch-Drunk?
----------------------------
HM-L.A. 2r - Dokic loses to Kuznetsova
....Dokic led 6-4,3-1 (then 4-1 in the 2nd set TB).
NEWS
1.Clijsters #1 in world... but Henin-Hardenne
is #1 in Belgium
----------------------------
2.Serena & Venus: M.I.A. (again)
----------------------------
3.Report: Anna's Career Over? (pity the poor TV audiences within earshot of her
next network "assignment")
**KIM vs. JUSTINE vs. SERENA**
...............KC....JHH....SW
Singles #......1......2......3
Won/Lost...75-11...63-7...36-3
Chsp.Race......2......1......3
Titles.........6......7......4
Doub.Titles....6......0......1
vs.Serena....0-3....2-1......x
vs.Venus.....0-2....0-1....2-0
vs.KC/JHH....3-4....4-3....4-2
vs.rest.....72-2...57-2...36-1
SF W/L......12-3....8-5....5-2
FINAL W/L....6-6....7-1....4-1
**2003 - WEEKS IN TOP 10**
36...Clijsters
36...Henin-Hardenne
36...S.Williams
36...Capriati
36...V.Williams
36...Mauresmo
35...Davenport
35...Hantuchova
26...Rubin
19...Myskina
17...Dokic
9....Seles
1....Dementieva
1....Hingis
BALI, INDONESIA (III-Hard/Outdoors)
2002 Final: Kuznetsova d. Martinez
2003 Top Seeds: Rubin & Dementieva
==============================
SF: Rubin d. Dokic; Dementieva d. Vento-Kabchi
FINAL: Dementieva d. Rubin
....after a very fortunate prediction record during the North American hardcourt
season (6 of 7 winners correct), I'm due for a big fall. So, why not go for
broke and finally pick Punch-Sober to win a title? If she doesn't, it'll just
be Punch-Drunk's fault.
