Clijsters Choke Hands Henin Another Slam Title
Posted on February 1, 2004
Is it technically still a "rivalry" when one player wins all the big matches? Top-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne again put a dent in the confidence of countrywoman Kim Clijsters Saturday at the Australian Open, putting down a second set rally for a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 victory, and shoring up her grip on the No. 1 ranking.
It was H-H's third win over Clijsters in the last four slam finals after the championship rounds at the 2003 French and US Opens. It was a devastating loss for Clijsters, who is now 0-4 in slam finals and no farther from her reputation as a big-match choker.
"Even in the beginning of the third set, she hardly missed any balls," said Clijsters, who after stirring some emotion by coming back to take the second set, set her groundstrokes on "spray" once the third began. "She makes you go for so many shots which are not natural, I think, for a lot of players. She keeps bringing them back. You try to go closer to the lines and then you miss a few. But that's, I think, where she probably made the biggest difference today. She brought so many balls back that made me go a little bit out of my comfort zone."
The Clijsters choke-o-meter went into the red at 3-4 in the third set when the 20-year-old twice had game point but double faulted. Clijsters then received a bad line call, and the crucial break and the momentum went H-H's way.
While the usually low-watt-emotional Clijsters was attempting to stir her competitive fire, in the end it was H-H who summoned up some fist-pumping and screaming, after the match sobbing into a towel with joy.
"That's been a very emotional match in every way because I was leading, I was playing well, and then always on the important moments Kim played well," said H-H. "I was feeling under pressure all the time, and the crowd gave her a lot of support, which I understand perfectly. But it's not been an easy one. I'm feeling very, very happy right now...Two years ago, or 12 months ago, this kind of match, I wasn't coming through, I wasn't winning, for sure. Today, I did. So a great evolution...I have three Grand Slams now and I have not realized it yet."
In the men's doubles final, the French duo of Michael Llodra and Fabrice Santoro avenged their five-set loss in the November Masters Cup to the Bryan brothers, this time defending their Aussie Open crown by beating the twins 7-6(4), 6-3.
The Frenchmen celebrated by stripping down to their underwear in front of the Melbourne crowd, taking off their shirts then responding as the crowd yelled for more.
"It was just for fun," Santoro said. "It was spontaneous. It wasn't a bet or anything like that." For Santoro the win capped an eventful week that saw him fined for spitting at a linesperson during a singles match, and getting kicked off the French Davis Cup team by captain Guy Forget for not being a team player. Santoro also took a parting shot at Forget: "I think together we are one of the best or the best team in the world. It's sad that we won't play together next Saturday (in Davis Cup)."
Sunday's men's singles final will see unseeded American-killer Marat Safin facing off against newly-minted No. 1 Roger Federer, contrasting the Russian's brute force against the vast Swiss Army Knife-array of weaponry at Federer's disposal.
Safin originally damaged his wrist at last year's Australian Open, and didn't compete in another slam the rest of the year. This year Safin beat five Americans en route to the final, including Andy Roddick and Andre Agassi.
If Safin wins, he will be the ninth successive different slam winner, setting a new Open Era record (there were two other eight-slam streaks from 1975-77, and 2000-02). Safin is the first unseeded Aussie Open finalist since Thomas Enqvist in 1999, and would be the first unseeded champion since Aussie Mark Edmondson in 1978. Both Federer and Safin have won 11 career titles, have one slam to their credit, and have held or are currently holding the No. 1 spot.
ROGER FEDERER vs. MARAT SAFIN
Federer leads 3-1
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2002 Moscow, Carpet, Safin 7-5, 6-4
2002 Hamburg TMS, Clay, Federer 6-1, 6-3, 6-4
2002 Davis Cup Rd 1, Clay, Federer 7-5, 6-1, 6-2
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2001 Rome TMS, Clay, Federer 4-6, 6-4, 7-6
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RUSSIAN MEN IN THE AUSSIE OPEN FINAL
1999 Yevgeny Kafelnikov (d. Thomas Enqvist)
2000 Yevgeny Kafelnikov (l. to Andre Agassi)
2002 Marat Safin (l. to Thomas Johansson)
2004 Marat Safin (vs. Roger Federer)
TENNIS-X AUSSIE OPEN ALL-TIME TOP 10 -- ** UPDATED **
Marat Safin jumps into the all-time best mix at the Aussie Open by reaching the final, bumping former No. 10 and countryman Yevgeny Kafelnikov. Andre Agassi is the top player the Australian Open has seen in the Open Era (since 1968), surpassing Guillermo Vilas from the slam's "less competitive" era, with only one Aussie on the list. Now if they can just bump Johan Kriek out of there (through Jan. 30, 2004, min. 20 matches, active players in bold):
1. Andre Agassi (USA) 44-4 .917
2. Guillermo Vilas (ARG) 23-3 .885
3. Stefan Edberg (SWE) 56-10 .848
4. Mats Wilander (SWE) 36-7 .837
5. Pete Sampras (USA) 45-9 .833
6. Ivan Lendl 48-10 (USA) .828
7. Marat Safin (RUS) 19-4 .826
8. Jim Courier (USA) 35-8 .814
9. John Newcombe (AUS) 30-7 .811
10. Johan Kriek (RSA) 25-6 .806
ATP No. 1 HISTORY
Here is a list of the 23 players who have ranked No. 1 in the history of the ATP Rankings (since 1973):
Roger Federer (SUI) 1 week at No. 1 (beginning next week)
Andy Roddick (USA) 13 weeks
Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) 8
Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) 80
Gustavo Kuerten (BRA) 43
Marat Safin (RUS) 9
Patrick Rafter (AUS) 1
Yevgeny Kafelnikov (RUS) 6
Carlos Moya (ESP) 2
Marcelo Rios (CHI) 6
Thomas Muster (AUT) 6
Andre Agassi (USA) 101
Pete Sampras (USA) 286
Jim Courier (USA) 58
Boris Becker (GER) 12
Stefan Edberg (SWE) 72
Mats Wilander (SWE) 20
Ivan Lendl (CZE) 270
John McEnroe (USA) 170
Bjorn Borg (SWE) 109
Jimmy Connors (USA) 268
John Newcombe (AUS) 8
Ilie Nastase (ROM) 40
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NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Sorry Aussie Kim, guess that's a robust 0-4 start to your career in Grand Slam finals. The "drive for five" continues at Roland Garros...Nice that Kim Clijsters had fellow choker Greg Norman in her box...Hey Kim, quit being so polite after you lose. Lleyton would have been breaking racquets and dropping f-bombs if he had lost a fourth straight slam final...For some inexplicable reason, following their doubles title over the Bryan kids, Michael Llodra and Fabrice Santoro decided to celebrate by changing out of their sweaty shorts and shirts into clean ones while on court -- that ain't the French nude beach fellas...With a title, Roger Federer would have a near-1,000 point lead in the ATP Entry Rankings...Justine Henin-Hardenne has won three of the last four Grand Slams, and is 26-1 in her last four majors. H-H served under 50% for the tournament and still won. See, who says you need a high first serve percentage to win titles (on the women's side)?...Marat Safin is trying to beat the No. 1 (Andy Roddick) and No. 2 (Roger Federer) players in a slam for the first time since Sergi Bruguera accomplished the feat back at Roland Garros in 1993. That year, the Surging Spaniard beat No. 1 Pete Sampras and No. 2 Jim Courier en route to the title...Marat Safin has played in 27 of a possible 30 sets en route to the final...We miss the "Safinette's"...For the second straight slam, Justine Henin-Hardenne's name got butchered in the post-match ceremony. This time, the announcer pronounced her last name "Hard-deen." Not once, but twice. Nice, who is coordinating these slam trophy presentations?...Former No. 1 Marcelo Rios had back surgery and will begin training in a month, with the surgeon saying the operation was "totally successful."...Marat Safin has a 18-7 career five-set record (has won three this event against Todd Martin, Andy Roddick, and Andre Agassi), while Roger Federer is a poor 6-7...Roger Federer is the first Swiss in the history of the Aussie Open (since 1905) to reach the final, the first Swiss to reach any slam final, and the first Swiss to rank No. 1...Roger Federer has won 11 straight matches, dating to his five wins at the Masters Cup...The 129 games that Marat Safin has lost en route to the Aussie Open final are the most of any man in the Open Era, eclipsing Goran Ivanisevic's mark of 116 at Wimbledon in 1998...Only 285 more weeks at No. 1 until Roger Federer ties Pete Sampras' record...Roger Federer looks like he is really struggling without fat coach Peter Lundgren, eh?...How come former No. 1 Martina Hingis can sit in Roger Federer's box to support him, but she cannot do the same for countrywoman Patty Schnyder? Meow!...Nice Lleyton-Like outburst by Kim Clijsters after that bad call in the final with the "You're F****** kidding!" We can read lips over crowd noise Kim...Frenchman Michael Llodra, after winning the doubles title and stripping for the crowd, wept into his towel at courtside: "It was difficult for me because last year I lost my mum. We lost a couple of times in the final last year and I wanted to prove to my mum (that we could win). It was very emotional."