Long Time, No See - 網球

http://tennisworld.typepad.com/travelblogue/2007/03/long_time_no_se.html
Long Time, No See
Posted 03/30/2007 @ 4 :12 AM

So we’re down to the closing stages of the match and everything is starting
to slot into place. There were some twists and turns on the women’s side,
but the final is pretty much what you would have expected when the draw came
out – Justine Henin vs. the winner of the foruth-round match between Serena
Williams and Maria Sharapova... in this case, Serena Williams

Believe it or not, Williams and Henin haven’t played since 2003. They met
three times that year - Henin won their two meetings on clay, one at
Charleston and the other a controversial encounter at Roland Garros. Williams
then got her revenge at Wimbledon a month later, winning in straight sets.

They’ve been through a lot physically and personally since then – Henin
with a long-running virus that struck in 2004 and made her decide to limit
her schedule ever since, and the breakup of her marriage late last year.
Serena has had left knee troubles that have required two surgeries, while in
spetember 2003, her half-sister Yetunde was shot and killed when visiting
Compton.

When they have played for uninterrupted stretches, the two have been the most
dominant players of the decade so far. For the most part, their periods at
the top haven’t coincided – the exception being that brief period in the
summer of 2003. This year could change that: rivals like Maria Sharapova,
Amelie Mauresmo and Kim Clijsters are struggling mentally or physically – or
nuptially – and the crop of –ovas and –vics behind them have continually
missed chances to break through on big occasions.

But for that to happen, they too will have to stay healthy, which is a
tenuous proposition even for Saturday. Serena, who has played four days in a
row, said her knee was inflamed during and giving her “a lot of pain
throughout” her semifinal match against Shahar Peer. Henin has been having
some breathing problems for which she’s taking medication.

Henin had an easier time in her semifinal than Williams, winning 6-2, 6-3
over Anna Chakvetadze, who kicked herself for her odd strategy: “She likes
when someone hit flat against her. Well, all girls mostly playing like that –
that's how I played today as well, I don't know why. It's not my style of
the game.”

Williams had fierce resistance in the first set from Shahar Peer but not much
thereafter in her 7-6(4) 6-1 win. She demolished Sharapova for the second
time in a row two rounds earlier, and got Nicole Vaidisova after that. It
must have all looked oddly familiar to Williams, who played the same
opponents in reverse order in the last three rounds of her Australian Open
win.

But now she faces a player who wasn’t at the Australian Open, Henin. The
match-up is always a absorbing one. Between the lines, there’s an
interesting premise: Williams’ big hitting against Henin’s versatile and
deceptively powerful game.

If Williams is on and making her shots, she can overwhelm Henin like she can
anyone else. But if Henin can get some rallies going and disrupt Williams’
rhythm, she could frustrate Williams and draw a large number of errors.

Their past matches have tended to break down by surface – Henin generally
winning on clay and Williams on faster surfaces.

There’s also a bit of an edge to their meetings because of that Roland
Garros incident. Down 4-2 in the third set, Henin motioned for Williams to
wait as Williams served at 30-0. After serving a fault, Williams rhetorically
asked the umpire if she would receive a first serve again. She did not
because the umpire had not seen Henin raise her hand.

Henin made no move to tell the umpire that she had motioned Williams to stop,
with her coach Carlos Rodriguez later saying something to the effect of, ‘If
Serena saw the raised hand, why did she serve?’ After the match, Williams
accused Henin of “lying and fabricating.”

The incident was heightened by the crowd, which booed and whistled Williams
repeatedly. The round before, Williams had beaten the French fans’ beloved
Mauresmo in no uncertain fashion. Henin came from a break down to win that
match and eventually her first Grand Slam title.

Is it all water under the bridge? Maybe, maybe not. Said Williams on Thursday
night, “Hopefully we'll have a good, honest match.”

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這篇寫了很多兩人的對比～可以一看
不過最後又提到03年法網真是鳥...

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