COVER STORY: OCTOBER 2007

NEW YORK — The smallest elite player on the planet is now clearly the best player on the planet, and after her 6-1, 6-3 wipeout of Svetlana Kuznetsova in the U.S. Open final, Justine Henin flexed her muscles and opened up her heart.

She came through the super-tough top half of the draw with flying colors, not dropping a set and becoming the first woman in history to best the fierce sisters, Serena and Venus Williams, in a Grand Slam and go on to win the title. There were a few moments during the fortnight when she was admittedly nervous, but she never underwent extended shaky periods. The 5-foot-6 dynamo was consistently lethal and wowed the crowds with a searing, multi-pronged attack

“For once in her life, I told her, ‘Don’t fight to win a match but fight for yourself,’” Henin’s coach, Carlos Rodriguez, said. “I fight a lot with her and say, ‘C’mon, let’s show what you are to people, don’t put wall in front of you.’ Now she’s there.”

The Belgian won her second U.S. Open title in the Williamses’ backyard, where the sisters had combined for four titles. She looked stronger, faster and more technically sound than the sisters and the strong-legged Russian, Kuznetsova, who won the ‘04 U.S. title and had hoped to exhaust her from the baseline.

But no one could during the tournament, because now Henin has become primarily on offensive player on faster surfaces and only plays defense when it’s demanded of her. She has the fastest first serve of any player her size in history, can match heavy forehands with the big girls and has the most colorful one handed backhand in the business. She’s an excellent returner and sure handed volleyer.

“I’m really proud not being that tall and I can compete and be the best player in the world,” said the 5-foot-6 Henin. “Not a lot of people really thought I could do it, and that’s why I’m really proud of it because probably Carlos has been the only one that told me every day, ‘You can do it. You can be the No. 1 player in the world.’ Not a lot of people thought I could win this Open with the draw I had, and I did it. It’s amazing for me.”

Henin has had an emotionally trying year, beginning in January when she separated from her husband, Pierre-Yves Hardenne, and consequently skipping the Australian Open. Last year was tough enough, when she accused of being a quitter when she retired with an upset stomach against Amelie Mauresmo in the final and then had to hear about being ungracious all year long. Plus, she lost three of four Slam finals, including defeats to Mauresmo at Wimbledon and Maria Sharapova at the U.S. Open.

Then came this year, when she and Hardenne no longer saw eye to eye and called it quits. She was devastated.

“I said to her, ‘Try to have the courage to solve your problems — only you, nobody else, not even me,’” said her mentor Rodriguez, who has been looking after her since she was a young teenager. “What advice can I give her? I’m a married man with two kids, 20 years older than her. She did this herself...She has taught me as much as I’ve taught her.”

Henin took the advice personally and professionally. She reconciled with her estranged brothers and sisters and then danced to her fourth French Open title. Then her biggest test arrived at Wimbledon, the only major she hasn’t won. She looked in terrific shape after upsetting Serena in the quarters, but then flamed out to France’s Marion Bartoli in the semis. Then another mini-crisis came.

“After Wimbledon, everyone said it would be difficult for her, “Rodriguez said. “ But Wimbledon is best thing to happened to her this year because she came back to reality. She said, ‘I’m a human and I’m hurt and sometimes humans fail.’ When you expect that and you are No. 1 and everyone thinks you can win and you can’t, it’s hard to face it. She’s very honest with herself. That’s the most important quality she has, she knows what she does wrong and right. I said don’t make the same mistake twice.”

Henin didn’t at the U.S. Open, as she never suffered letdowns after her thumping of Serena and her survival of the red hot Venus, who had beaten her seven straight times coming into the match. A bitter Serena called her lucky after a 7-6, 6-1 defeat. But she used the comments as fuel, and out-hit Venus, who was playing at an extremely high level. She knew that most analysts had said that was the de facto final, but she put that aside as the Bartoli debacle was fresh in her mind. Hence her devastation of Kuznetsova.

In her past seven Grand Slams, Henin has won three titles, and reached two other finals and one semi. If she hasn’t been the WTA Tour’s most consistent and best player since the beginning of ‘06, than who has been?

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Not Serena, who has won one Slam title during that time. Not Sharapova, who also has won one. The same goes for Venus, with one major in that period, and even Mauresmo, with two.

It’s Henin, who seems to know what her personal limits are and makes sure when she shows up at tournaments, that’s she in a perfect space physically and mentally.

“I prefer when it’s calm, when it’s normal, and it is right now,” she said. “It’s much better in my life. So I can imagine there’s a little impact on my tennis. But I’ve been professional a lot, like always, and didn’t know really what to expect from this season when it started pretty badly for me. I just kept fighting and came back probably stronger, so it’s just great.”

Henin now owns seven Grand Slams, passing Venus, who has six, and she’s just one behind the woman who wouldn’t give her much credit after she beat her in three consecutive Grand Slams, Serena. She and Serena are 25-year-olds, and Venus is 27. In the next three years, their rivalries will grow more heated, because all of them realize that the woman who ends her career with the most Slam titles will win the race in the history books.

Henin showed at the ‘07 U.S. Open just how much she likes to put her small yet cut frame and steely mentality against the most successful sibling duo in history. Count on her doing more of the same in the passing years, sometimes losing, but always going for the big prizes.

“The Williamses dominated and maybe they will later but we have to be prepared to go to the big fight against the champions,” Rodriguez said. “That’s the most beautiful thing is to do that. I tell Justine that you have the chance to be the champion of the champions, the player who win the Slams multiple times; to win 10 to 13 Slams. She can do it, but it’s up to her. If she wants to, she has everything to do it.

 

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