Justine Henin took yet another step towards retaining her French Open title by defeating Serena Williams in the quarterfinals yesterday. She inflicted a defeat on Serena, arguably her strongest opponent in the tournament till date, with a score line of 6-4, 6-3.
Henin, a two-time defending champion at the Roland Garros, adopted an aggressive strategy from the outset and kept Serena on the back foot throughout the match. She once again exposed the weakness of the American power-player on the clay court. Williams could do nothing except throw down her racket in frustration time and again, as Henin blew her away on the Philippe Chatrier centre court.
The match lasted 1 hour and 18 minutes and the Australian Open champion was subdued by an inform Henin quite easily. Serena put her performance into perspective in the post-match press conference:
Nothing worked today. I don’t think I’ve ever played so bad in a quarter-final of a Grand Slam.
Maria Sharapova, too, marched into the semis by defeating compatriot Anna Chakvetadze 6-3, 6-4. This performance marks her best outing on clay and is a surprise to many fans. Only last week Sharapova had complained that clay made her feel like ‘a cow on ice.’
Well, for a cow, she found her feet quick enough and made Chakvetadze scurry across the court, with her powerful backline strokes. In the end the passage to the semifinals was all too easy for her.
After the match Sharapova said:
I wouldn’t say I’m surprised. I’m more proud and excited about it.
She went on to add that she wouldn’t be surprised if she were to win the tournament from here on in.
Meanwhile, the semifinal draw has pitted Justine Henin against Jelena Jankovic, while Sharapova will play Anna Ivanovic. This the first time in history that two women from Serbia have reached the semi-finals of a Grand Slam.
Who would triumph? This, only time will tell. Personally, I tip Henin to take home the title for third time in a row.
