Comments on: WHO’S AFRAID OF ITTY BITTY JUSTINE HENIN?

By: judy

judy — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:26:52 +0000

i think it might be that venus covers the court very well (esp at wimby), her movement is more balanced, her footwork seems better than serena's. justine could probably move serena around more, side to side, get her off balance. venus also has a better wingspan and more sound volley to cover passes. justine had such a complete game, that she (like roger) could expose a player's weaknesses. this is all speculation of course. i used to watch their matches but can't actually remember how they played out.

it would be good to know justine's head to head vs. each williams sister and on which surfaces. justine won the FO 4 times, so it would make sense if she faced serena there a few times, that justine would have the edge on clay.

By: judy

judy — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:19:58 +0000

great post ff. so interesting to think about the players on tour and how they might think and react. hopefully safina will come back next year with more confidence, better movement and serve. the competition will only get tougher! she was the last one to beat justine and that propelled her forward.

By: freakyfrites

freakyfrites — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 07:16:44 +0000

Hmm. . .very good question Alista. That's a tough one.

I'm kind of going with your theory – Venus is taller than Serena and Justine's spins don't bother her as much. . .

I'd have to take a look and see where they've all played each other. If Serena's happened to meet Justine more on clay, for instance, that might explain that a little bit.

That's an interesting list you got going there. . .players who bug one Williams and not the other.

By: alista

alista — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 06:53:49 +0000

I never understood why Serena has more trouble with Henin than Venus. Anyone want to hazard a guess? It's kind of how Sernea has trouble with Dementieva, but Venus, not so much. I know their games are different, but they both play a power game. Is it a matter of height and the difference in their strike zones?

By: Alice Marble

Alice Marble — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 05:46:01 +0000

I just hope she comes back as ready as Kim did.

By: JFK

JFK — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 04:12:00 +0000

It seems like most everyone in the tennis world is excited about her comeback, but yeah some WTA players are not going to be *too* happy she's back.

By: lorrie

lorrie — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 03:55:30 +0000

hey FF, i think justines just became ur new muse. i agree – terrific and funny post.

By: @dootsiez

@dootsiez — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 02:48:59 +0000

And, read the last line again. I think you'll find a typo there.

By: @dootsiez

@dootsiez — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 02:39:36 +0000

Heheh fun post! With Clijsters and Henin back in the mix and Shazza working hard on that serve, the WTA just got a whole lot more exciting.

I still can't believe this is happening. Justine did *too good* a job at convincing us she's never coming back. But perhaps that was a sign – she tried a bit too hard to convince us and (it seems) herself that she was really over tennis. If she really were, she wouldn't have needed the convincing.

The question has never been "why should Henin come back?" But rather "how could she stay away?" SO. HAPPY.

By: Alice Marble

Alice Marble — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 23:42:43 +0000

Terrific post, FF, funny and spot-on. Rubbing my hands in glee — the Women's Tour will be bubbling like mad.

By: LongLiveKingRog

LongLiveKingRog — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:53:13 +0000

Excellent piece!!! Love this bit: Ana Ivanovic: “I’d like to announce my return to professional tennis!”
As for Safina, well, shame she didn't capitalise on the weak field this year. I can't see her winning a slam with the return of the two belgians + two williamses (and arguably you can add into the mix the sometimes-quite-brilliant-Kuzzy). Fun times ahead – I can imagine myself watching a women's match now…