21/01/2011 05:43 CEST - Australian Open
Kuznetsova sent Henin home
TENNIS - More than a few someones will call this an upset, No. 26 ranked Sveta Kuznetsova taking out No. 13 Justine Henin in the third round at the Australian Open on Day 5 by 6-4, 7-6 (8). Charles Bricker
But, really, an upset occurs when a superior player at a given moment is beaten by a lesser opponent, and, rankings aside, Henin isn't the better player right now. Not that Kuznetsova looks that dominant, but she's a darn sight better than the still-raw, still-needing-matches Henin at this stage of the young season.
The classic Henin flash just isn't there yet. She had so many butchered forehands in this match, some on gimmes inside the service line. And nine double faults, the last coming at 8-8 in the second-set tiebreak on a slapper off the net that caromed long.
But what is most pointedly missing is Henin's rhythm to the ball. The quickness is there. No debate here about her foot speed, which looks as swift as ever. But when Henin is in full flower, she flows in perfect synchronicity to the ball, and that means not only getting to the ball quickly but in perfect rhythm with her stroking.
That's what is missing most of all and she'll get it back, I expect, some time this spring. It's going to take time.
Some will wonder why Kim Clijsters could come back so quickly from a long layoff to win a Grand Slam where Henin is going to take longer. The answer is that Clijsters is essentially a power player, so that even if her court rhythm is missing, she's powerful enough to hit her opponents off the court.
That's not Henin, who is essentially a finesse player. She is absolutely reliant on that movement-to-the-ball rhythm.
The Aussie Open was her first event since she lost to Clijsters in the fourth round at Wimbledon last year, taking a spill and fracturing a tendon in her elbow. She got healthy. She trained hard late last year and got back on court in a glorified series of pre-Australian Open exos at Hobart, where she won four matches against players of little distinction.
At Melbourne, she got by a rusty Sania Mirza in the first round and easily beat Elena Baltacha in the second. That was the end of the stiffs, though. Kuznetsova may have dropped in the rankings after a rough finish last year, but she's got one of the toughest serves and forehands on the women's tour and she came out pounding in this match.
The only time she looked suspect came as she served for the win at 5-4 in the second. Classic Kuznetsova tightness. She virtually gave the game away and the two women, who were playing for the 19th time (Henin leads 16-3), stumbled into a tiebreak, where Kuznetsova won it on her fourth match point.
Just about all you need to know about Henin's statistical performance was 20 winners and 41 unforced errors.
I sort of doubt that she'll be deeply disappointed about this three-and-out Slam because she knows how rough around the edges she is. She played with a brace on the elbow -- the kind you use for tennis elbow. But there was no indication the repaired injury was flaring up. She just needs time.
Charles Bricker can be reached at nflwriterr@aol.com
Charles Bricker
"The first thing it makes me think of is Michael Jordan number "
Svetlana Kuznetsova about her ranking (n. 23)
A cura di Giacomo Fazio
January 20, 1920
Rebound Ace, the controversial court surface of the Australian Open since 1988, is thrown under microscope and criticized as two players, Gabriela Sabatini and Mark Woodforde,suffer ankle injuries that force them to leave the court in wheelchairs in third-round matches.
From "On this day in Tennis History" by Randy Walker
