Mary vs. Justine - The Final Preview
June 3, 2005
Mary vs. Justine - The Final Preview
PARIS - One-hundred-and-twenty-eight players started but just two remain as the
2005 French Open comes to a climax for the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour on Saturday
with the ladies' singles final. Justine Henin-Hardenne and Mary Pierce, both
former champions here, will do battle for the year's second Grand Slam title.
The two players have travelled remarkably different paths en route to Saturday's
final. Henin-Hardenne, the No.10 seed, was challenged in her early rounds here,
but has stepped it up immensely in the latter stages to reach her second career
Roland Garros final. The 2003 French Open champion was put to the test right
out of the blocks in the first round by Spanish veteran Conchita Martinez,
the runner-up here in 2000. After an immaculate first set in which she hit
12 winners to just one unforced error,Henin-Hardenne allowed the 45th-ranked
Martinez back into the match, eventually closing it out 60 46 64 after two
hours and 16 minutes. The Belgian was much more together in a 61 64 second
round win over 66th-ranked Virginia Ruano Pascual, but was again taken to
three sets in the third round by 34th-ranked Anabel Medina Garrigues,
defeating her third Spaniard in a row 46 62 63 in two hours and 17 minutes.
In what was arguably the most exciting match of the tournament, Henin-Hardenne
went the distance against No.6 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the fourth round,
overcoming a 5-3 deficit and two match points in the third set, as well as a
set point in the first set tie-break, to defeat the reigning US Open champion
76(6) 46 75 in three hours and 15 minutes. Since being on the brink of defeat
against Kuznetsova, Henin-Hardenne has brought out her best tennis, winning
decisively against Maria Sharapova and Nadia Petrova to reach the final. The
Belgian dispatched No.2 seed Sharapova 64 62 in the quarterfinals, then cruised
past No.7 seed Petrova 62 63 in just over an hour in the semifinals.
Her early round troubles came in stark contrast to her results prior to Roland
Garros, which include consecutive titles at Charleston, Warsaw and Berlin, and
what is now a 23-match win streak heading into the final. She is 26-1 on the
season, with her only loss coming to Sharapova in three sets in the
quarterfinals of her season debut at Miami.
"If I would have only one more Grand Slam final, it would be here," said the
Belgian, who has now won 20 of 24 career matches at Roland Garros. "I hope I
will have many other Grand Slam finals, but this one is very special."
In contrast, Pierce reached just one quarterfinal on Tour this year prior to
Roland Garros, but has not faced much resistance in reaching her third career
French Open final. The No.21 seed advanced past 49th-ranked Vera Douchevina
62 75 in the first round, then routed 62nd-ranked Jelena Kostanic 61 60 in
just 58 minutes to advance to the third round. There, she overcame a 5-2
deficit and set point in the first set to upset No.9 seed Vera Zvonareva
76(2) 75 in two hours and 12 minutes, and followed that up with another upset,
this time over recent Rome finalist and No.8 seed Patty Schnyder, claiming a
61 16 64 victory in just over two hours.
It was in the later rounds that Pierce began unleashing the devastating form
that carried her to her previous Grand Slam titles at the 1995 Australian Open
and 2000 French Open. She defeated a world No.1 at Roland Garros for the third
time in her career with a decisive 63 62 win over Linsday Davenport in the
quarterfinals, and stepped up her game even more in the semifinals, taking
apart No.16 seed Elena Likhovtseva 61 61 in just 58 minutes.
The championship match-up between Henin-Hardenne and Pierce should be closely contested, with Pierce holding an advantage in her stellar form throughout this year's event, but Henin-Hardenne dominating their head-to-head.
Pierce has been more impressive than Henin-Hardenne at Roland Garros this year in just about every match statistic. First off, she has balanced out 169 total unforced errors with 167 winners, a near-equal ratio that is rarely achieved on the slow red clay of Paris, while Henin-Hardenne has hit a total of almost 50 more errors than winners. Pierce has been much more successful on the offense, complementing a 68% average first serve percentage by winning the point on 79% of her net approaches, while the
Belgian is 51% on the first serve and has emerged victorious on 60% of her forecourt ventures. The Frenchwoman has also played the big points much better, converting on 62% of her break points, while Henin-Hardenne has converted on just 44%. Finally, Henin-Hardenne has averaged seven double faults per match to Pierce's two, and has spent over two-and-a-half hours more on court.
"I've had nothing to lose in the last few matches," said Pierce on her fearless play. "I really couldn't ask for anything better, to be playing against Justine in the finals. It's going to be fantastic. Great test for me. She's one of the best players in the game right now."
The pair's head-to-head tells a different story, however, with Henin-Hardenne winning handily in all three of their previous encounters, all on different surfaces. The Belgian triumphed 62 63 on green clay in the 2003 Charleston quarterfinals, 63 63 later that season on grass in the fourth round of Wimbledon, and 64 64 just last year in the quarterfinals of the Athens Olympics, which was held on hard courts.
"I think she's in great shape right now, and mentally she's very strong because she loves to play here at the French Open," said Henin-Hardenne on facing Pierce for the first time at Roland Garros. "She won it a few years ago, so she has a great motivation to go to the final and then try to win this tournament."
Each player has contested four Grand Slam finals prior to this one, with Henin-Hardenne claiming three titles and Pierce two. One important factor on Saturday will be winning the first set - every time either player has won the first set in a Grand Slam final, they have gone on to win the championship, while neither have ever come from a set down to claim victory.
"I'm really just going to enjoy it, enjoy being on the court, enjoy every moment, the crowd cheering for me, my family supporting me," said Pierce on the final. "It's the last match and I'm going to give everything that I have."
"I love this place," said Henin-Hardenne. "I feel like I'm playing at home. It's a lot of emotions for me here at the French Open. It's a lot of memories, so I hope to be in my top form in two days."
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※ 編輯: okk 來自: 61.230.20.190 (06/05 03:07)
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