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| While all the talk prior to Roland Garros was about Rafael Nadal’s dominance of men’s clay court tennis, people tended to forget that Justine Henin also has a magnificent recent record here. Like the young Spaniard, Justine has won the last two French Opens. Even better, the Belgian has three titles to her name, including her first victory in 2003. Like the Majorcan, Henin has progressed to the second week in Paris without losing a set. Even better, she has broken the record for the number of consecutive sets won here (29). | | | | Serena Williams has won each of the other Grand Slam tournaments at least twice, and she commented recently that her Suzanne Lenglen Cup won in 2002 looked a bit lonely in her well stocked trophy cabinet. Serena came from nowhere to win in Melbourne earlier this year, so a victory in Paris would keep her on course for the Grand Slam (the accolade for players who win 4 majors in one calendar year). | |
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| Absent in Melbourne due to personal reasons, Henin took no time re-establishing herself on her return. She won in Dubai, Doha and Warsaw, and is back playing better than ever here in Paris. | | | | Serena stands apart from the rest of the players on the women’s tour. Such is her natural talent and huge experience, she is able to arrive at a Grand Slam with little or no preparation and snatch the title. She did just that in Australia, and worryingly for her opponents, came to the French looking fresh and confident. She has strolled through to the quarters, only losing one set along the way, her very first against Tsvetana Pironkova. | |
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| Henin possesses perhaps the best backhand ever in the history of the women’s game. A delight to behold, it is her main weapon and she quite rightly uses it at every opportunity. There was a time when opponents used to attack her second serve, but not any more. On other surfaces, her physique can work against her, but not on clay, where she moves nimbly and slides beautifully to the ball. | | | | Serena has not changed much over the years. She continues to pummel the ball to all corners of the court, particularly from her forehand side. His first serve is frighteningly fast and her second packed with top spin. Her will to win remains intact and she has learnt to slide better on clay. | |
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| All the talk in press is about the pair’s legendary quarter-final of 2003. The French crowd turned against the American on that occasion and Serena was visibly upset after she left the court, beaten 7-5 in the third. | | | | The clash of styles between Williams’ power game and Henin’s technique makes for an intriguing and exciting spectacle. Justine will need to work the angles and get Serena moving as much as possible. | |
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| Serena is 6-3 up but Justine has won three of their four matches on clay. The win in the 2003 epic was the last time Justine beat Serena, but both players have been playing down any rivalry dating back to that match. “It’s been four years. A lot of water has flown under the bridge since then," reasons Justine. | | | | If anything, Serena holds the psychological advantage after her incredible success in their last match, in Miami (0-6, 7-5, 6-3). The American lost the first set to love and then saved two match points before finally winning out. Serena never, ever gives up, but then neither does Justine. This will be some quarter-final. | |
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