By John Bagratuni, IANS
Stuttgart : The dominance of Justine Henin in women’s tennis has reached such a stage that rivals don’t even believe that little psycho tricks can stop the Belgian.
“When I found out that we had to play each other I thought I might knock on her door in the evening before and pretend to be room service with a bowl of fruit – in the hope that I may distract her,” said Serbian world No.3 Jelena Jankovic.
“But then again, after seeing how well she played today I don’t think it would have made a difference.”
Jankovic said she got the idea when she accidentally walked into Henin’s room during the Porsche Grand Prix. Both players were amused by the incident but Henin then had no sympathy for Jankovic on court as she beat her for the eighth time in as many meetings.
Henin went on to lift the trophy Sunday with a three-set win over Tatiana Golovin, the latest milestone in a terrific year for the 25-year-old.
It was a tour-leading eighth season title and the 37th overall for Henin, who will top the year-ending rankings for the third time, following 2003 and 2006.
Henin now has a strong forehand to go with her deadly backhand. She seems to dominate at will, in almost similar fashion as Martina Navratilova or Steffi Graf did in the past.
She is unbeaten in 16 matches since a Wimbledon semi-final loss to Marion Bartoli of France and only dropped one set during that streak, on Sunday against Golovin.
Her 2007 match record stands at 54-4 and she has reached at least the semis in the 12 tournaments she entered. She now aims for a career-best ninth season title at Zurich and/or the season-ending Masters in Madrid.
“It is the best year of my career. The streak gives me a lot of confidence,” Henin said. “It would be the first season without a big injury.”
Henin started late into the season as she first re-organized her private life, separating from husband Pierre-Yves Hardenne. She missed all of January highlighted by the Australian Open and also had an injury layoff in summer.
She came to Stuttgart from several weeks of rest following the US Open title, being fresher than most other players in the closing stages of the season.
“I am smart on my calendar. I want to be fresh every time I step onto the court. I want to give it 200 percent,” she said. “My season hasn’t been so long. I have a lot of energy left.”
Not everything was perfect in Stuttgart as Henin for instance had trouble closing out sets against Elena Dementieva and Jankovic, and fell one set behind against Golovin. But she was there when it mattered, regardless how tough the opposition.
“Justine always plays her best tennis against me,” wondered Jankovic. “I don’t know what to say. I have lost to her so many times. I don’t know what I need to do to beat her.”
Golovin said: “You see her play and you are not impressed. She doesn’t have any huge shots. But she doesn’t let you play. She is so strong mentally and physically. You feel under stress all the time.”