You'll Have To Excuse Them, Justine - 網球

http://www.courant.com/sports/hcu-jacobs-0907,0,3171963.story
You'll Have To Excuse Them, Justine
By JEFF JACOBS | The Hartford Courant 10:31 PM EDT, September 7, 2007
NEW YORK - We had seen the future of women's tennis and she was as tall as s
he was muscular. She was athletic. She was strong. She could run, man, and she
could shoot out the lights.

We had seen the future of women's tennis and her name was Venus and her name
was Serena.

If we had said in, oh, 2002, that Justine Henin, little "Juju," from the
Walloon region of Belgium would become the best player in women's tennis,
might win more major titles than either Williams sister, well, you would have
called us loopier than their daddy Richard.

After all, Henin is only 5 feet 53/4 and 125 pounds. Sure, she could scurry
around the court like a gray squirrel. Sure, she would learn to master a
one-hand backhand that's as impressive as any on either the men's or women's
side. And, yes, she was so focused, so private, so damn serious that she came
off aloof, Spartan enough for success.

But this successful?

With six majors in her pocket and a seventh coming tonight against Svetlana
Kuznetsova at the U.S. Open?

Where Henin not only dusted Serena in straight sets in the quarterfinals, but
followed with a 7-6, 6-4 triumph over Venus in a semifinal Friday that was
marked by bursts of genius?

No, non, nope. Juju wasn't the blueprint for women's tennis.

After exquisite shot-making, at times exhibiting a feathery touch, at other
times answering Venus power-for-power, we should all embrace Henin's
brilliance. After the way she fought on in the heat, the humidity, with some
difficulty breathing, we should embrace her heart.

That doesn't mean all of us did, most notably the Williams family. They
couldn't have come off more self-absorbed. They cannot seem to stop
themselves from alternately sounding outrageous, graceless or just plain
dizzy.

Although Venus had beaten Henin seven of eight times, they hadn't met since
the 2003 Australian Open. Only a fool would fail to see this is a much
different Henin. Only a hopeless Venus or Serena fan would fail to see that
these two amazing athletes have let time pass without entirely --
consistently -- maximizing their potential.

If that sounds a little harsh, well, Serena could have been the greatest
player ever.

Venus could have been in the top five.

It's not going down in the history books that way, at least not as of this
publication date.

"I really believed I could do it, and that's maybe why I did," Henin, 25,
said. "I don't think a lot of people thought I could beat [Venus] in this
tournament. It's not easy to play Serena and Venus.

"I didn't believe enough in myself, didn't trust myself enough in the last
few years against them. This year a lot of things have changed. I trust
myself much more. I still have a lot of respect, but I'm not scared anymore."

Henin has undergone a metamorphosis off the court. She withdrew from the
Australian Open because she was divorcing her husband, Pierre-Yves Hardenne.

Justine lost her mother to cancer 12 years ago, and as she grew older she
became estranged from her family. In April, her brother, David, lay in a coma
for two days after a car accident. His recovery brought a visit from Justine,
and that led to reconciliation with her father and siblings.

And while that personal road has been painful at times, the result has been a
more complete person. She is human after all. At the French Open, she opened
up about her family. At the U.S. Open, she has put her passion on display.
She's much easier to root for.

Tennis is Roger Federer's world, and everybody else is just renting space
from him. But only the most self-indulgent would miss out on Henin, which
means, not surprisingly, that the Williams clan did.

After Henin beat Serena for the third successive time in a major
quarterfinal, Serena said, "I just think she made a lot of lucky shots and I
made a lot of errors. ... The only reason I came [to the press conference], I
can't afford to pay the fines because I keep losing."

Did it ever cross Serena's and Venus' minds that they lose and get hurt
because they haven't shown the consistent dedication to tennis Henin has? The
Williams sisters are a joy to watch. They have a number of outside interests,
including fashion, fashion and fashion, and they are free to make life
choices. But if Serena doesn't build much more on eight major titles and
Venus doesn't build much more on six, well, the Williams family should have
the decency to praise somebody half their size who could win more.

Instead we get Richard in the New York Post before the match:

"I believe Venus can whip anyone here. I don't think no one here is going to
beat Venus."

This just in Richard: 7-6, 6-4.

He also had gone on about how Serena's knees, hamstrings and thumb were
hurting so badly that she never should have played in the tournament. He
didn't make any excuses for Venus. After Henin became the first player to
beat both sisters in a major since Martina Hingis at the 2001 Australian
Open, Venus went down that road herself with a half-hearted, totally
incomprehensible explanation of her health.

"I was feeling dizzy, a little sick to the stomach," Venus said. "I was just
having some energy problems. I'm not really sure what's wrong with me."

It wasn't the heat, Venus said. It's nothing compared to where she trains in
Florida. Was it a stomach virus? Not sure, she said. She was acting giddy,
loopy. She said she felt like this in her last match against Jelena Jankovic,
only after winning that decisive tiebreaker, she had gone on about how
terrific she felt at the end. She also said she felt like this at a
tournament in San Diego. It has gone on long enough to have a hunch.

"I'm not sure what's wrong, but I'll figure it out," she said.

The next moment she said, "I definitely know what part of it is. I got sick a
little bit in the first week. I'm not sure what's happening right now."

Say what?

"I'm surprised," Henin said, cracking a smile, indicating she wasn't
surprised at all by Venus saying she wasn't 100 percent. "I don't care. I had
breathing problems. I could say I wasn't 100 percent, but I was fighting on
every point. I think it was just a good match."

It was a great match.

And tonight the little woman from Belgium, the present of tennis, will be
champion.

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