Henin clear favorite at WTA Championships - 網球

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Henin clear favorite at WTA Championships
MATTHEW CRONIN FOXSports.com, Updated 9 hours ago

Justine Henin says she's relaxed going into the defense of her Sony Ericsson
WTA Championship title, which begins on Tuesday in Madrid. And why not? The
creative Belgian is riding a 20-match winning streak, has collected a career
high nine titles this season and is the only player in the field on a
legitimate hot streak.

Australian Open champion Serena Williams says she wants a piece of Henin
again, but she doesn't sound too confident. Venus Williams is skipping the
elite eight-woman event due to strange bouts of dizziness. No. 2 Svetlana
Kuznetsova has beaten Henin once this year on clay, but Henin crushed her in
the U.S. Open final. No. 3 Jelena Jankovic hasn't taken a match from Henin in
eight attempts, and 2005 WTA champion Maria Sharapova has a sore shoulder and
has only played one match since the U.S. Open.
As Tracy Austin says, it's Henin's tournament to lose.

"Justine is further ahead of the pack than Roger Federer is because the women
behind her are weaker than the men behind Federer," said Austin, who will
comment on the championships for the Versus network this week. "At least on
the ATP Tour you see guys like Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and David
Nalbandian who are showing that they can beat Federer, where on the women's
tour, only Henin has been playing at a consistently high level this second
half of the year."

The Championships has a round robin format, split into two groups of four.

Here's a look at the field in order of favorites:

Justine Henin
The 25-year-old Belgian is a remarkable 58-4 this year. She skipped the
Australian Open to recover from her separation from her former husband,
Pierre Yves Hardenne, and lost in her first tournament back to Lucie
Safarova. She fell to Serena in the Miami final, to Kuznetsova in Berlin and
was stunned by Marion Bartoli in the Wimbledon semis — her last defeat of
the season.

En route to Madrid, she pocketed her sixth and seventh Grand Slam titles in
Paris and New York. Of the other women who made it to Madrid, she has scored
four wins over Kuznetsova, six over Jankovic, three over Serena, one over Ana
Ivanovic, and one over Anna Chakvetadze. Her round robin group includes
Jankovic, Serena and Chakvetadze, whom she's 10-0 against this year.

The Belgian has won titles on every surface and under any kind of weather
condition.

"Justine doesn't have any place where you can go to," Austin said. "The only
question with her is whether the cumulative effect of a long season has taken
a toll on her emotionally, but she seems to have adapted well. She believes
that she's better than Serena now and that's a big step."

Ana Ivanovic
One of the three from this field, along with Henin and Hantuchova, to win a
tournament this fall, the young Serbian has been very up and down. She showed
tremendous promise in reaching the French Open final and Wimbledon semis, but
couldn't keep up a consistent level.

She won in Los Angeles, then bombed in Toronto. At the U.S. Open, she was
outmuscled by Venus. She won in Luxembourg, then flamed out early in
Stuttgart and Zurich. She may have the biggest forehand in the game and is
one of the tour's most elite volleyers, but the 20-year-old has yet to mature
to the point where she can be a dominating player.

But the medium-paced surface should suit her well, and she is itching for a
breakout title. She's in the group with Kuznetsova, Sharapova and Hantuchova
— all opponents she feels that she can take.

"Ana has the game to stay with anyone, but she has yet to convince me whether
she can handle the pressure of being a top player," Austin said. "She also
needs to improve her defense and find a way to win matches when everything
isn't clicking."


Serena Williams
Serena is neck-and-neck with Ivanovic in the order here, but she hasn't won a
tournament since besting Henin for the Miami crown back in March.

In her last tournament in Zurich, she retired down 6-0, 3-0 to Patty
Schnyder. She's put her yeoman's hat on this fall, traveling to Stuttgart,
Moscow and Switzerland to get some necessary work in, but she's been troubled
by an adductor strain and may not have the legs to go hard in five matches
over six days.

"After what Serena did in Australia, I'll never count her out, but she's not
staying in rallies like she did then and has lost some confidence," Austin
said. "Still, she'll be motivated to try and get an edge on Henin again, so I
expect her to fight hard. But will she be physically up to the weekend test
if she has to battle hard in three matches? We'll know by Saturday."

Maria Sharapova
The Russian is the biggest question mark of the field, but also is one of the
few players capable of getting on a roll and steamrolling Henin. She likely
won't be able to serve at full strength after a few matches as her injury
hasn't healed yet, but she showed in winning the Championships indoors two
years ago over Serena that when she's feeling confident, she can butcher
opponents off the ground.

But this has been the crossover celebrity's most trying year, as she's only
won one title (San Diego) and was beaten down in all of her Grand Slam
losses. She will open against Hantuchova.

"It might not be just her shoulder, but her confidence," Austin said. "Maria
has never had a year like this before where she's been injured a lot and has
taken so many big defeats to the other top girls. It's going to be tough for
her if she can't serve well in Madrid because it's always been such a big
weapon for her. If she's the one doing all the running, she'll be in trouble.
But you have to like her in her first two matches if she comes out swinging
confidently. For Maria, reaching the semis won't be good enough and she needs
to end this year on a positive note."

Svetlana Kuznetsova
One of the tour's most consistent players, Kuznetsova seems to be in the
semis or finals every week, but has only won one title, New Haven. She's a
paper No. 2 who is vulnerable to any player in her group, but could just as
easily squeak out a few wins.

"I'm still waiting for her to take the next step, but I'm sure she thinks she
belongs at the top," Austin said.

Jelena Jankovic
A victim of overplaying and Henin wiles, Jankovic has been stopped again and
again in critical matches. The Serbian is a tremendous runner with weapons
off both wings and is sure to tire every foe she faces, but won't have enough
juice left off a title run. She and Serena will likely be playing for second
spot in the group in their opening match. "Jelena needs to really look at her
schedule next year because if she wants to contend for major titles, she has
to stop playing every week," Austin said of the woman who contested 27
tournaments in 2007, by far the most of the top 5.

Anna Chakvetadze
This Russian teen sensation of the mid-summer has really fallen off her
stride since choking her U.S. Open semifinal to Kuznetsova. She is quick and
smart but appears to need a long break after overplaying. She'll be lucky to
score a win in her group.

"She should be very exited just to have reached the Championships and should
be looking at this as a great opportunity, but she has to avoid the
'just-happy-to-be-here' attitude," Austin said.

Daniela Hantuchova
A strong year-end run by the slender Slovak guaranteed her place in Madrid,
as she won the regular-season finale in Linz. However, the veteran also snuck
in because she played so much, logging 77 singles matches this season in 26
tournaments. She's not without talent and loves the long grind of the
three-setter, but her record against the top players is spotty at best.

"She's been playing about as well as she's capable of and that probably won't
be good enough," Austin said.

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