Federer, Henin-Hardenne Continue Domination with Indian Wells Wins

Posted on March 23, 2004

Tim Henman was 6-1 career versus pre-No. 1 Roger Federer prior to Sunday's Masters Series-Indian Wells final, before the Brit found out just what an effect the top spot can have on a player. Henman is now 0-1 versus the now-No. 1 Roger Federer, with the Swiss delivering a masterful 6-3, 6-3 performance for his third title of the year.

Federer broke Henman early in both sets, deflating the Brit's attacking game with laser-like passes and a heavy backcourt game. Federer had previously never gotten past the third round at Indian Wells in three attempts.

"Roger came into this week as world No. 1 and he certainly proved that today," Henman said. "I felt I had some small chances in the opening few games but against a player of Roger's class you have to capitalize on those things."

In the doubles final, the French duo of Arnaud Clement and Sebastien Grosjean captured their first Masters Series title with a 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 victory over Zimbabwe’s Wayne Black and Kevin Ullyett. "We've really enjoyed playing together this week," Grosjean said. "It was the first time we've played together this year. We've beaten the No. 1 team (Bryan brothers) so we didn't have any pressure coming into the final. We had our chances in the second set, but fought back in the third to win the match."

The singles main draw for the MS-Miami will be made on Monday, with play to begin on Wednesday.

WTA REVIEW/PREVIEW
World No. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne won her fourth WTA title of the year with a 6-1 6-4 win over former No. 1 Lindsay Davenport at Indian Wells on Sunday, further securing her grip on the No. 1 ranking.

H-H did not drop a set during the event, and won her first Indian Wells title after previously failing to reach the quarterfinals in the desert. In temperatures that reached well over 100 degrees on court, Davenport appeared spent by the end of the second set, missing an easy put-away volley, then on match point barely moving as the Belgian slapped a forehand winner down the line.

"I moved well and stayed calm in the second set when I was down," H-H said. "I love playing in these finals."

Davenport said the Belgian was just too good on the day.

"She was by far a better player today," the American said. "I can't really do much about it except go home, keep working on the things I need to work on, give it my best next time...I feel like I tried my hardest. I feel like I played a great tournament. You know, today I lost to by far a better player, I mean, she was controlling the rallies, moving me around, and doing everything really well."

In the Saturday doubles final, (1)Ruano Pascual/Suarez put the beat down on Russians (2)Kuznetsova/Likhovtseva 6-1, 6-2 for their second title of the year. Kuznetsova and Likhovtseva were appearing in their fifth consecutive doubles final, with Indian Wells the third consecutive final for Ruano Pascual/Suarez.

The singles main draw for the MS-Miami will be made on Monday, with play to begin on Wednesday.

NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Chairman (the unfortunately porn-star-like named) Dick Pound has suggested Greg Rusedski's drugs case should be reopened: "This is not a 12-year-old told to go to bed on time. This is a 30-year-old professional tennis player who is clearly aware of all these cases, yet persists with the behavior that led to the positive tests and then says 'Well, you didn't tell me.' It defies imagination. So far as I am aware there's not the slightest bit of evidence that the (ATP) electrolytes were tainted. If we were to conclude that the hypothesis is completely unsubstantiated, then (the ATP) may very well say 'Well, maybe we should seek a further explanation'."...Roger Federer has won 27 of his past 28 matches and has captured 10 titles since the beginning of last season...All of the Top 77 men and 75 of the Top 79 women are entered to play Miami this week...The first meeting of the ATP Task Force on Supplements will take place at noon on Tuesday, March 23 in the Biscayne Room at the Sonesta Beach Resort, Biscayne Bay at the ATP stop in Miami. The first half of the meeting is open to the public -- players, coaches and others are welcome to attend. The second part of the meeting will be a closed-door session for Task Force participants only...South Korea's Hyung-Taik Lee married Soo-an Lee in Seoul on Feb. 28...Unseeded Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer beat No. 6 seed Thomas Enqvist in the final of the Boca Raton (Florida) Challenger...Justine Henin-Hardenne surpassed Serena Williams for the most ranking points since the inception of the WTA Rankings in November 1975. By winning the Indian Wells title, Henin-Hardenne now has 7626 points, passing Serena's 7273 points accrued the week of Feb. 24, 2003.