Image source; orvillelloyddouglas.wordpress.com/.../Henin; A Revival of Tennis Variety?
The announcement of the return of Justine Henin to competitive tennis has left me wondering; is this the end of all Williams’ finals at the majors?
After an all Williams 2003 Australian Open final, people thought that the 2003 French Open would be another family affair… right? However, this proved to be the last all Williams major final for six years and the last time that Venus Williams would make a Grand Slam final outside of Wimbledon.
Changing of the Guard
2003 marked a changing of the guard at the majors, with Serena Williams and Justine Henin locked at two Grand Slam titles apiece at the end of the season. The swing in momentum was clear during a semi-final clash between Serena Williams and Justine Henin-Hardenne at the 2003 French Open Semi-final which became famous for the hand gesture. With Serena serving at 4-2 30-00 in the third set Justine made a hand gesture to signal she was not ready to receive serve, causing Serena to serve into the net. After a dispute (for a point replay) that went against Williams, Serena went on to lose the following four points, the match and ultimately Serena’s campaign at the major finals (except the Australian Open ’05 ’07) for six years. In a post match interview summed it up well, "The Williams sisters are doing a great job for women's tennis ... but it's good to see different faces at the end of the tournament.”. In the years that followed the Winner’s lists at the slams have included Kim Clijsters, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Anastasia Myskina and Maria Sharapova.
Long Way Down
Since the retirement of Henin in May 2008, we have seen two successive all Williams Wimbledon finals, as well as the four of the last seven Grand Slams being won by a Williams’s sister. It is as if with the retirement of Henin a majority of top players lost the ability to play tennis. Ana Ivanovic went into a downward spiral after claiming the French Open that has resulted in her best Grand Slam result being a fourth round berth at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Likewise, Jelena Jankovic has not made a quarterfinal at a Grand Slam in 2009; other players who have faded after the retirement of Henin include Anna Chakvetadze (who went from no. 6 in the rankings to no.59 in the space of a year), Nicole Viadisova (now ranked 190th) and Daniela Hantuchova ( from no. 7 to no.21).
However, with all the downward spirals, a few positives have come with the Henin retirement; Dinara Safina (who could forget her 2008 French Open run), Caroline Wozniacki (who is now ranked no.5) and Kuznetsova who recently added the French Open to her Grand Slam resume.
As much as the top players will gush and pretend to be ecstatic over the return of Henin next season, you can be sure that each player will be evaluating the imp[act it will have on their game. For the Williams Sisters it will mean competition; Henin dumped Serena Williams out of three consecutive majors in 2007 as well as dispatching of older sister Venus in the semis of the 2007 US Open. You can be sure that Sharapova will use this to her advantage, after Henin dispatches of the Williams sisters (who have caused Sharapova a lot of losses at Grand Slams) Maria will make short work (no pun intended) of the Belgian like the 2006 US Open final. Ultimately, all the top ten players will see this as an opening; Henin has been one of the few players to consistently beat the Williams sisters in the second week of majors. Only time will tell if Justine Henin still knows the answer to the Williams riddle…
After an all Williams 2003 Australian Open final, people thought that the 2003 French Open would be another family affair… right? However, this proved to be the last all Williams major final for six years and the last time that Venus Williams would make a Grand Slam final outside of Wimbledon.
Changing of the Guard
2003 marked a changing of the guard at the majors, with Serena Williams and Justine Henin locked at two Grand Slam titles apiece at the end of the season. The swing in momentum was clear during a semi-final clash between Serena Williams and Justine Henin-Hardenne at the 2003 French Open Semi-final which became famous for the hand gesture. With Serena serving at 4-2 30-00 in the third set Justine made a hand gesture to signal she was not ready to receive serve, causing Serena to serve into the net. After a dispute (for a point replay) that went against Williams, Serena went on to lose the following four points, the match and ultimately Serena’s campaign at the major finals (except the Australian Open ’05 ’07) for six years. In a post match interview summed it up well, "The Williams sisters are doing a great job for women's tennis ... but it's good to see different faces at the end of the tournament.”. In the years that followed the Winner’s lists at the slams have included Kim Clijsters, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Anastasia Myskina and Maria Sharapova.
Long Way Down
Since the retirement of Henin in May 2008, we have seen two successive all Williams Wimbledon finals, as well as the four of the last seven Grand Slams being won by a Williams’s sister. It is as if with the retirement of Henin a majority of top players lost the ability to play tennis. Ana Ivanovic went into a downward spiral after claiming the French Open that has resulted in her best Grand Slam result being a fourth round berth at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Likewise, Jelena Jankovic has not made a quarterfinal at a Grand Slam in 2009; other players who have faded after the retirement of Henin include Anna Chakvetadze (who went from no. 6 in the rankings to no.59 in the space of a year), Nicole Viadisova (now ranked 190th) and Daniela Hantuchova ( from no. 7 to no.21).
However, with all the downward spirals, a few positives have come with the Henin retirement; Dinara Safina (who could forget her 2008 French Open run), Caroline Wozniacki (who is now ranked no.5) and Kuznetsova who recently added the French Open to her Grand Slam resume.
As much as the top players will gush and pretend to be ecstatic over the return of Henin next season, you can be sure that each player will be evaluating the imp[act it will have on their game. For the Williams Sisters it will mean competition; Henin dumped Serena Williams out of three consecutive majors in 2007 as well as dispatching of older sister Venus in the semis of the 2007 US Open. You can be sure that Sharapova will use this to her advantage, after Henin dispatches of the Williams sisters (who have caused Sharapova a lot of losses at Grand Slams) Maria will make short work (no pun intended) of the Belgian like the 2006 US Open final. Ultimately, all the top ten players will see this as an opening; Henin has been one of the few players to consistently beat the Williams sisters in the second week of majors. Only time will tell if Justine Henin still knows the answer to the Williams riddle…
