Unbending Belgian

Published : Nov 24, 2007 00:00 IST

After starting the season six weeks late and in despair, Justine Henin concluded it by becoming the first woman to win more than $5m (£2.4m) in prize money in one season. By Richard Jago.

Justine Henin underlined that she is one of the sport’s strongest characters as well as the finest stroke-maker in the game when she ended a difficult year with a successful defence of her title at the WTA Championships.

Henin overcame exhaustion and a foot problem as well as Maria Sharapova by 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 in three hours 25 minutes — the longest final since the event switched to best of three sets in 1999.

It added lustre to her personal story of marital breakdown and family reunion after a seven-year estrangement, while her tenacity and skill gave rise to some telling statistics.

After starting the season six weeks late and in despair, she concluded it by becoming the first woman to win more than $5m (£2.4m) in prize money in one season. She is also the first since Martina Hingis in 1997 to win 10 titles in a season and the first since Steffi Graff in 1989 to remain unbeaten after Wimbledon — a sequence of 25 matches.

Henin achieved these things in a great final between the current world No. 1 and a former world No. 1, between the artist and the slugger. Before this tournament Sharapova had not won a match since the US Open in September because of a persistent shoulder injury. Competing as one of the best eight players in the women’s game in Madrid she not only got her act together again but came within a few points of becoming an improbable champion.

“I wasn’t even sure I would be here,” she said. “And then I was happy just to get as many matches as I could. So I was really pleased to have got as far as this. This was totally unexpected.”

Sharapova’s injury is still not completely healed but playing with the problem has helped her learn to serve smarter, kick-spinning the ball in and switching it wide unexpectedly, while her ground strokes have borne an extra burden extremely well.

Henin was forced to dig deep by Sharapova in the first set, the Belgian saving seven set points before the Russian finally triumphed, but it was two double faults by Sharapova in the third game of the final set which helped Henin to a 3-1 lead and the sense that the balance had tipped her way in a see-saw encounter. Another double fault, on game point in the seventh game, gifted Henin the most important break of all for 4-3 and then 5-3, clearing the way to victory.

“In the third set it was mentally and physically so tough,” said Henin, who rushed into the stands to embrace her family and support team as soon as she had won.

“We were both dead. But what a way to finish the season. I feel it’s a dream for me to do this after what happened. I had a lot of people around me to support me and I grew up.”

© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2007

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