Hot Maria Sharapova and Henin top match of French Open
Four-time French Open title holder Justine Henin returned successfully in the Roland Garros defeating Russian Maria Sharapova for a fourth round spot.
The Belgian comeback star won over Sharapova snagging a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory. Henin who was previously ranked world number one and a home crowd favorite at the French open, participated in the tournament once again after her two-year absence and short retirement from the tennis industry.
The 12th seed Sharpova, who was recently awarded as the Strasbourg title holder last weekend, fought against Henin who similarly have own set of Grand Slam titles four of which she won at the Roland Garros. Henin has a total of 10 Grand Slam titles to date.
Henin’s clearly expressed her determination to win another French Open title. She added that she only has only played a few tournaments and that she’s still out to play some more. Since she’s combing back from a 20-month hiatus, Henin considers 2010 as a year of transition for her despite the fact that she’s starting the season right with winning one game to another.
While she may have high expectations and ambitions for herself, Henin shared that she still has to work on her play intensity, her consistency and even her focus in every match. Samantha Stosur from Australia is the next opponent in line for Henin.
The Belgian is currently leading against Sharapova with a record of 7-3 following their last game at the Australian Open back in 2008.
The match between the Russian and the Belgian was momentarily halted due to lighting issues specifically when darkness covered Paris. The match leveled before it stopped. When the match was resumed Sunday, Sharapova pushed for a possible victory when gained a 2-0 lead during the last set.
However, Henin delivered a 4-2 lead only to toss back the opportunity over to Sharapova who went for a 4-3. Despite the returned game opportunity, the Russian player had to deal with the chilly and windy court condition. She scored a break point in game eight only to lose to a backhand pass.
Henin saved three match points in the following game. Henin had a double-fault during the first before she pushed for a clincher turnover. Sharapova secured a sharply angled backhand only to land on the sideline.
Sharapova admitted the little things which led to her loss. The 12th seed Russian added that improving on these little mistakes will definitely help her in future matches. While she was able to deliver a good tennis play, it was not enough to down the four-time French Open champion. Sharapova emphasized that whether it was a good or bad play, still the winner of the match is Henin.
Sharapova also commented on how court conditions were not very encouraging when her match with Henin started. Just when the conditions were already worse, it even got worse when rain poured and messed up the clay on court and added to the ball’s weight.
The rain lasted around 10 minutes which was enough to completely transform the court. The darkness which enveloped Paris also made the match harder. Nonetheless, Henin was able to endure the daunting court conditions and prevailed over Sharapova. Henins is set to go beyond what she has accomplished.
The four-time champion said that anything can happen on court but she is willing to take the risk and go beyond what she has not yet accomplished.
The match was one of the toughest and most compelling in the women’s draw, featuring two of the most decorated players in the world.
Henin and Sharapova are both great champions, sharing one goal: to win one specific Grand Slam tournament to complete the four major championships.
Sharapova won the Wimbledon, U.S, and Australian Open but seek for a French Open title to complete her collection. On the other hand, Henin captured Australian Open (2004), French Open (2003, 2005, 2006, 2007), and US Open (2003, 2007) but missing a Wimbledon title in her career.
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