Mauresmo v Henin in Wimbledon Final
Posted on July 7, 2006A first-time Wimbledon champion will be crowned Saturday when world No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo faces former No. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne in the championship, a rematch of the controversial Australian Open final where the Belgian retired with stomach pain.
The top-seeded Mauresmo shook off a potential choke and outlasted the grunting former Wimbledon champion and No. 4 seed Maria Sharapova 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, while Henin-Hardenne improved her career head-to-head with countrywoman Kim Clijsters to 12-10 after a 6-4, 7-6(4) win.
"I got tight," Mauresmo said of her shaky second set. "I could have probably let that third set go because of the mental (pressure). It didn't happen that way. I just felt it was not going to be this way this time. I was able to fight through it."
Henin-Hardenne leads the career meetings with Mauresmo 5-4, including a win in their last encounter on clay at Berlin this year. The title for Henin-Hardenne would complete a "career Slam" as only the Wimbledon championship has eluded her among the majors.
Winners in doubles quarterfinal action Thursday were (4) Yan/Zheng (d. (7) Huber/Navratilova), Fedak/Perebiynis (d. (5) Groenefeld/Shaughnessy), and Ruano Pascual/Suarez (d. (10) Daniilidou/Medina Garrigues), all winning from a set down.
The top-seeded Mauresmo shook off a potential choke and outlasted the grunting former Wimbledon champion and No. 4 seed Maria Sharapova 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, while Henin-Hardenne improved her career head-to-head with countrywoman Kim Clijsters to 12-10 after a 6-4, 7-6(4) win.
"I got tight," Mauresmo said of her shaky second set. "I could have probably let that third set go because of the mental (pressure). It didn't happen that way. I just felt it was not going to be this way this time. I was able to fight through it."
Henin-Hardenne leads the career meetings with Mauresmo 5-4, including a win in their last encounter on clay at Berlin this year. The title for Henin-Hardenne would complete a "career Slam" as only the Wimbledon championship has eluded her among the majors.
Winners in doubles quarterfinal action Thursday were (4) Yan/Zheng (d. (7) Huber/Navratilova), Fedak/Perebiynis (d. (5) Groenefeld/Shaughnessy), and Ruano Pascual/Suarez (d. (10) Daniilidou/Medina Garrigues), all winning from a set down.