[WTA]Henin-Hardenne Comeback Completes Fourth Round
May 30, 2005
Henin-Hardenne Comeback Completes Fourth Round
PARIS - The final three quarterfinal berths were determined on Monday as
fourth round action was completed on the red clay of Roland Garros. The
matches were forced onto Monday's schedule after rain suspended play on
Sunday evening.
In what was arguably the most entertaining women's match of the tournament,
2003 Roland Garros champion Justine Henin-Hardenne overcame a 5-3 third-set
deficit and two match points to defeat reigning US Open champion Svetlana
Kuznetsova. The excitement was accompanied by several patches of erratic
play, with the two players combining to hit a total of 131 unforced errors
to just 68 winners. In addition, the players each hit 10 double faults to
just two aces. In the end the Belgian was just too tough, winning the last
four games to claim a 76(6) 46 75 win in three hours and 15 minutes. She also
saved a set point at 5-6 in the first-set tie-break.
"I didn't play a great match today, but I think I was mentally strong when I
had to be, and that made a big difference," said Henin-Hardenne, the No.10
seed here, who has now defeated Kuznetsova in seven of their eight career
meetings. "I could feel at 5-3 that she was very nervous to win the match. At
that point, I still believed I could win.
"Even if I didn't play a great match, it's very good because I stayed really
positive and I never stopped fighting. This kind of win makes me very, very
happy."
For Kuznetsova, it is the second straight year that she has lost in the round
of 16 after squandering match point. Last year, she also held a match point
in the final set against eventual champion Anastasia Myskina before losing.
"I would kill myself if this was the final," said Kuznetsova, who was seeded
No.6 here. "I had many chances in the third set. I just had to go and play
the same way as I played until 5-3, until the match points."
On the Russian's first match point, she missed a down-the-line forehand wide,
and on her second match point, she flubbed a backhand slice into the net.
"Everywhere I was just missing my chances. I just have to play more aggressive
when I have the advantage."
Next up for Henin-Hardenne will be No.2 seed Maria Sharapova, who advanced
with a 62 63 win over 46th-ranked Nuria Llagostera Vives. The match was
suspended on Sunday night at 3-all in the second set, and Sharapova needed
only 10 minutes on Monday to finish it off.
"I've been playing a lot better in my last two rounds than I did in my first
two," said Sharapova, who will be making her second consecutive quarterfinal
appearance in Paris. "I think I'm getting better and better."
The reigning Wimbledon champion goes into the round of eight with a 9-2
record on clay for the season, a statistic that includes reaching her very
first clay court semifinal in Rome just a few weeks ago.
"If people under-estimate me on clay, they'll be surprised."
In the only other women's singles match of the day, No.29 seed Ana Ivanovic
(pictured) followed up her stunning third round upset of Amelie Mauresmo with
a 64 67(3) 63 fourth round win over No.22 seed Francesca Schiavone in just
under two -and-a-half-hours.
"She's a really great player, and she runs very well," said the 17-year-old
Serbian on Schiavone, who is a former quarterfinalist here herself. "I wanted
to win this match so much today, and I was really looking forward to playing
my best and doing as best as I can."
"After the second set, I felt a little bit down, but I'm very happy I could
come back and win the third."
Tuesday's quarterfinals will pit top seed Lindsay Davenport against 2000
champion and No.21 seed Mary Pierce, No.16 seed Elena Likhovtseva against
unseeded 15-year-old Sesil Karatantcheva, No.7 seed Nadia Petrova against
Ivanovic, and Sharapova against Henin-Hardenne.
In doubles, round of 16 action was also completed. The Top 3-seeded teams all
advanced, with top seeds and defending champions Virginia Ruano Pascual and
Paola Suarez blowing past No.15 seeds Iveta Benesova and Kveta Peschke 61 62;
No.2 seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber defeating No.16 seeds Zi Yan and Jie
Zheng 36 63 62; and No.3 seeds Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs outlasting No.14
seeds Marion Bartoli and Anna-Lena Groenefeld 46 64 63. No.4 seeds Likhovtseva
and Vera Zvonareva weren't so lucky, going down 62 64 to No.13 seeds Shinobu
Asagoe and Katarina Srebotnik.
The doubles quarterfinals will pit Ruano Pascual and Suarez against No.12
seeds Emilie Loit and Nicole Pratt, Asagoe and Srebotnik against No.5 seeds
Petrova and Meghann Shaughnessy, Raymond and Stubbs against No.8 seeds Corina
Morariu and Patty Schnyder, and finally Black and Stubbs against unseeded Li
Ting and Sun Tiantian, the Olympic gold medalists from Athens last year.
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