US OPEN 2006 - NYC BLEU - 網球

http://www.henin-hardenne.be/bin/index.asp?lang=en

07/09/2006:

The Belgian lioness once again triumphed in New York City defeating the great
American Lindsay Davenport 6-4 6-4 in 88 minutes to book a place for Friday
against surprise semi-finalist Serbia's Jelena Jankovic. It was a very hard
ball striking, high end attack inspired match, but Justine's superlative
agility in returning shots, and Lindsay's effortless crystal clear racquet
technique made it look deceptively simple.

The grade A quality of the match was set from the first hit of the ball. The
acute angles, and purity of skill as oppose to raw uncontainable ball bashing
was on show for the crowd on Arthur Ashe stadium. This quarterfinal, featuring
two US OPEN champions, had the merits of a final, but both players weary and
respectful of one another's superior backhand passing shots; chose to stay
away from finishing off at net with volleys. Much of the first set was played
from the baseline by Justine and Lindsay using shots that would've been
routine winners against mere WTA draw fodder, but not against each other. The
Belgian lioness broke the American's serve in the seventh game, and never
looked back. The owner of the world's most electric 1-handed backhand won the
first set 6-4.

A medical timeout was taken by Justine before the start of second set for
discomfort on her rib area, and most likely scared the hardcore global legion
viewing the match. The pause in the match had no effect on Lindsay with her
vast experience, and she raced ahead to a 3-1 lead. Luckily, there was no
physical effect from the medical timeout, except losing 2 games for Justine as
she levelled the set. It was more sleek swift rallies from both ends of the
court, but JH2 found her jazzy New York groove, and zoomed in on Lindsay's 2nd
serves as the American was out of sync in breaking the Belgian service
rhythms. The match ended 6-4 6-4 in 1 hour and 28 minutes.

Final Score 6-4 6-4 in 1 hour and 28 minutes

Allez Justine!


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