Ball-girl looks belie Henin's dominance of the women's g - 網球

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Ball-girl looks belie Henin's dominance of the women's game
Watching Justine Henin's latest procession against the 15th seed Patty
Schnyder, two words came to mind: Roger Federer.
Sean Ingle July 2, 2007 2:53 PM

Centre Court, ladies finals day, 2001. Venus Williams, 6ft 1in tall and 12
stone of muscle, against Justine Henin, eight inches smaller and three stone
lighter. The mismatch many predict doesn't quite materialise - Williams wins
6-1, 3-6, 6-0 after a second-set wobble - but it matters little, for
afterwards everyone agrees that this is the future of the women's game: power
tennis played by six-footers with big, bludgeoning ground strokes.

Six years on, however, it is not Venus, Serena, Jennifer or Lindsay who is
No1 in the world, but the vegan-armed Henin, who at 25 could still pass for a
ball-girl - until she puts racket on ball. Her cracked whip of a forehand is
impressive; her rasping, can't-pause-for-breath one-handed backhand
astounding.

Indeed, watching her 56-minute, 6-1, 6-2 procession against 15th seed Patty
Schnyder - one of many on tour who has amassed a million-dollar bank balance
by being a perennial fourth-round loser - two words came to mind: Roger
Federer.

It's not as trite a comparison as it sounds. Both have a similar
two-shots-ahead anticipation that makes them appear quicker than opponents;
both have an all-court game which is rare in modern tennis; and both
accumulate trophies with the speed of a rag 'n' bone man collecting junk.

On that score Federer is ahead, but Henin is closer to him than you'd think.
She has six grand slams compared to Federer's 10; 34 singles titles compared
to Federer's 48. Her tournament record this year is better: 36 matches and
just three defeats compared to Federer's 30-5 record. She remains in his
slipstream. If she was five inches taller she might even be ahead of him.

Really, Henin is that good. Certainly she deserves more praise for dominating
her rivals despite being physically smaller and weaker than them.

How does she do it? Partly it's down to timing and technique, which allows
her to generate the power to startle even the quickest opponent. Then there's
her tennis brain and speed around court plus a relentless desire to iron out
her weaknesses. These days Henin's first serve fizzes through the air at
110-115mph while her volley, according to one ex-pro I spoke to today, ranks
alongside Amelie Mauresmo's as the best in the women's game. It wasn't always
that way - something many on the tour would do well to learn from.

So far in this year's tournament, Henin has dropped only 14 games in four
matches. But next up is likely to be Serena Williams, two-time Wimbledon
champion and - despite her official ranking of seven - the second-best player
in the world. When they met a month ago at Roland Garros, Henin matched her
blow-for-blow, shot-for-shot, before triumphing in straight sets. But this is
grass, a surface made for Serena's power tennis. Another huge test could
await.

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