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Serena Williams & Justine Henin to Meet in Australian Open Women's Final

It's on y'all.

So aside from the people of China nobody in the world looked at yesterdays semifinals as much more than a formality. Sure Serena had to gut out a 76 76 win over Na Li but the 61 60 beating Justine Henin gave Zheng Jie was almost expected - well I thought Jie might win 2 or 3 more games.

When Justine walked away from the game 20 months ago she robbed the tennis community of the best women's rivalry on the tour: vs Serena. And in just her 2nd tournament back from retirement it's back on.

Serena leads the H2H 7-6 which includes the last time they played in Miami '08. In Grand Slam play Justine is 4-2 which includes the last three - all quarterfinals in '07 at the French, Wimbledon and US Open. On hard courts Serena leads 4-1.

Serena has been to 4 Australian Open finals and has never lost.

Interesting to note that for two of the best players of the last decade or so they have never met in the finals of a Slam. They have met 4 times in finals on the tour which they split 2-2.

This one is just way toooooo close to call.

Photos: AP/Reuters

1st Women's Semifinal Set for Australian Open

And there's not a seed to be found as wildcard Justine Henin is set to play unseeded Zheng Jie in what is surely the shortest (in height) Slam semi in history - Justine is 5 foot 5 and Jie is 5 foot 4.

Zheng Jie put the beat down on Maria Kirilenko, 61 63. I checked Zheng's previous Slam results the other day and was shocked to see that she was a Wimbledon '08 semifinalist. How could I not remember that? Then it hit me, I was travelling that week. She ran into Serena Willimas that day but played her pretty well. She'll next face Justine Henin for a spot in Saturday's final. I'm thinking, no.

 

Speaking of Justine... She is trying to become the second wildcard in a row to win a Slam - following Kim Clijsters miraculous run at the US Open. The '04 Aussie Open champion beat the Slam slayer Nadia Petrova, 76(3) 75. In just her second tournament back her march to the semifinals is the 'lookout' moment of the young tennis year.
 

The Funny Faces of Tennis for January 24

Justine Henin - No. Nonsense.

Juan Martin Del Potro - The ol' nip slip.

Svetlana Kuznetsova - Still pissed about that night match.

Rafael Nadal - Melting?

(Some) Winners from Day 7 of the Australian Open

So many great matches. And a heartbreak. All into the quarterfinals.

Justine Henin d. Yanina Wickmayer - 76(3) 16 63

Um, she's sitting pretty to make the final.

Marin Cilic d. Juan Martin Del Potro - 57 64 75 57 63

Unbelievable match. How was there not a single tiebreak?

Andy Roddick d. Fernando Gonzalez - 63 36 46 75 62

Fern had a wild ride starting at the end of that 4th set - sheesh.

Maria Kirilenko d. Dinara Safina - 54 ret.

Dina Dina Dina...

Zheng Jie d. Alona Bondarenko - 76(5) 64

Or is it Jie Zheng? I can't ever get that right.

Nadia Petrova d. Svetlana Kuznetsova - 63 36 61

She's beaten the current US and French Open title holders this week.

Photos: Reuters/Getty Images

Justine Henin Pulls Off 3 Set Win in Melbourne

What a match - down and out and Justine claws her way back.

Boy she started flat then suddenly down a set and a break - she shows up.

Well, that and the fact that her opponent is a bit on the hefty side.

Allisa Kleybanova wilted. She needs to lose some weight.

Every ESPN commentator called her every word for fat except 'fat' - really.

Justine prevailed 36 64 62.

She next faces fellow Belgian Yanina Wickmayer in the 4th round.

Photo: Reuters

This, from the Justin Gimelstob Twitter Page

Now this guy I envy!

Justine Henin practicing on Rod Laver Arena

Baghdatis celebrating his 5 set comeback win

Things are getting close with me & Leif in the booth during Federer match!

You can follow Justin on Twitter as I do.

Photos & captions: Justin Gimelstob

Henin Beats Dementieva in Australian Open Thriller

It's hard to call a 2nd round match an instant classic but this one comes very close. I'll never understand how the Austalian Open organizers didn't plop Justine into the vacant Yaninia Wickmayer spot and seed her #16. Just so unlucky for Elena.

Justine beat Elena 75 76(8) in a tense yet entertaining match that lasted 10 minutes shy of 3 hours.

Elena sure had her chances tho - including 2 set points in the opening set and up a break in the second but the beauty of Justine's game was on full display as she swiped them away in her 'what pressure?' manner of play.

I was going to stay up and watch this match live and I'm kind glad I didn't cuz it would have pushed me about 4 hours past my bedtime and I figured I'll have enough of that next week. I did try to watch it without knowing the result this morning but damn those text messages. I forgot to leave my phone off.

In case you still had your doubts last night proved one thing - Justine is back kids. Very back. And I'm looking forward to a very late night to watch the Kim/Justine quarterfinal in a few days time. Yea, I went ahead and penned that in. Better happen.

Photos: Reuters

Justine Henin and Elena Dementieva Face off Today in a 2nd Round Blockbuster at the Australian Open

It's only Day 3 and we already have a doozey on our hands.

It's a pity really. I was kind of hoping that since the tournament organizers were not going to allow Yanina Wickmayer in as the 16th seed that maybe, just maybe, they'd plop Justine in there. Hell, she's a past champion with a final round result in her first tournament back two weeks ago. I bet Dementieva agrees.

Tonight we have a battle of last two Olympic gold medalists in women's singles. And it should be a great match. Pre-retirement their H2H was 9-2 in Justine's favor. And in Sydney she played like a woman who had never left the game so who knows what will happen tonight.

For her part Elena is in spectacular form - she just crushed Serena Williams in the Sydney final only a few days ago. It'll be sad to see either of them lose this early.

One thing is certain - I'm gonna be up ridiculously late tonight.

Photos: Getty Images

 

A Few Thoughts About the Schedule of Play for Day 1 at the Australian Open

Ahhh, a little more than 5 hours away until start of play. And even though the first couple of rounds tend to be on the dull side on the show courts I still find myself excited for another Slam getting underway.

There are plenty of ATP and WTA stars on display today including, Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova, Kim Clijsters, Andy Murray, Dinara Safina, Andy Roddick, Juan Martin Del Potro, Justine Henin, Jelena Jankovic and Fernando Gonzalez. I don't see any of them losing. In fact, if you are a ticket holder on Rod Laver Arena you are probably in for a pretty quick day.

The last match on Laver finds Aussie darling Jelena Dokic taking on #27 Alisa Kleybanova. The crowd will certainly be a factor in this one - they cheered Jelena on to the quarterfinals last year. Lightning strikes twice? Look for the upset.

There are a couple of interesting matches to keep an eye on today.

On Court 3 Fabrice Santoro is playing in his 70th Slam. He'll take on #14 Marin Cilic. YAWN. The tennis world gets to say goodbye to him all over again. He'll be back in France tomorrow.

First-on on Court 6 is #13 Radek Stepanek taking on Ivo Karlovic. Never in a million years would I actually watch this match but it's an interesting encounter all the same. Stepanek has won all three meetings but looking at the scores they have played close with 6 tiebreaks among the sets. Could go either way.

Also on Court 6 is Arnuad Clement against James Blake. With James fading of late and Arnaud getting to the Auckland final two days ago Arnaud might just get his first win in their 8th meeting. I'll take Arnaud. (Literally - ha!)

Two young American's play cagey tour veterans today. #25 Sam Querrey takes on the 2000 Aussie finalist Rainer Schuettler. They have never played and I doubt Sam is too worried about Rainer - he's about 50 now. #33 John Isner has a more dangerous match against Andreas Seppi. This is their first meeting but Isner might be very tired having won the title in Auckland just 2 days ago. I'm smelling an upset here.

A Look at the Women's Draw for the Australian Open

Ah, a full field again. Total awesomeness. Let's take a look-see quarter by quarter:

First Quarter: This is an even year so that means Serena won't win this year but there is no stopping her march into the semifinals. Who will stop her? Suarez Navarro? Sam Stosur? Date Krumm? #7 Azarenka. I'm laughing over here. Ana Ivanovic is in here quarter - nope, still laughing.

Predicted Semifinalist: Serena Williams

Second Quarter: I loved ESPN's headline yesterday about how the Sisters couldn't meet in the final. Um, like that was ever gonna happen. They ain't gonna meet in the semifinals either. Venus just doesn't play well in Australia. Hell, Venus could lose her first match against Safarova.

This is technically Caroline Wozniacki's quarter and she has a few tough players to potentially deal with... Aside from Venus there is #22 Daniela Hantuchova, #16 Li Na and #10 A. Radawanska.

Predicted Semifinalist: Caroline Wozniacki

Third Quarter: Here is the stacked and most exciting quarter of the draw. Check this out, #5 Elena Dementieva is on course to meet just-out-of-retirement Justine Henin in the 2nd round. Then one of those gals might meet #15 and US Open winner Kim Clijsters in the quarterfinals. All this and I haven't even mentioned the high seed in this quarter, #3 Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Predicted Semifinalist: Kim Clijsters

Fourth Quarter: From the looks of things #2 Dinara Safina shouldn't have a problem getting to the 4th round where she has a projected meeting with #14 Maria Sharapova. Dicey. And then there's #8 Jelena Jankovic... who the hell knows what she'll do, we just know it'll be entertaining.

Projected Semifinalist: Maria Sharapova

Final: Kim Clijsters over Serena Williams in 2

Check Out this Photo of Aussie 00's Women's Winners

Ok, it's way too easy to goof on that crazy Serena hair-don't in the top right photo but the thing that strikes me most is that at this point Jennifer Capriati's pair of wins were sooooooooooo damn long ago.

The Funny Faces of Tennis for January 13

Victoria Azarenka

Lleyton Hewitt

Justine Henin  

Weekend Winner Wrap-Up - January 10, 2010

Brisbane International in Australia

Andy Roddick d. Radek Stepanek - 76(1) 76(8)

Kim Clijsters d. Justine Henin - 63 46 76(6)

Chennai Open in India

Croatian Marin Cilic  Photo: Eurosport

Marin Cilic d. Stanislas Wawrinka - 76(2) 76(3)

Qatar Open in Doha

Nikolay Davydenko d. Rafael Nadal - 06 76(8) 64

ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand

Yanina Wickmayer d. Flavia Pennetta - 63 62

Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia

Spain's Tommy Robredo & Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez d.

Great Britain's Andy Murray & Laura Robson - 2 matches to 1

Well Crappers - Justine Henin Pulls Out of Sydney Int'l

Crikey, that didn't take long.

A slight upper leg thing.

Precautionary AO10 withdrawal.

Serena sleeps easier in Sydney tonight.

Kim Clijsters Beats Justine Henin in Brisbane Thriller

 Look out girls - the Belgians are ba-ack!   Photo: AFP/Getty Images

Kim and Justine gave the tennis world a classic in Brisbane battling each other in a match that could not have been much closer - and nodoby in the States got to see it.

Dumb Tennis Channel. Airing this tomorrow? Lord.

The score read 63 46 76(8) in Kim's favor. I'm very much looking forward to checking this one out. On Tennis Channel. Tomorrow.

So recapping: Justine's first tournament back and she reaches the final (nearly winning it) and Kim's fifth tourney back and she grabs her second title to go with that US Open trophy.

One thing is clear - women's tennis this year is gonna be good, again.

Belgian Rivals Clijsters & Henin to Battle in Brisbane Final

At least the fans got their wish in Brisbane - sucks to be D'oh ha.

Ah yes, the intensity is back.  Photo: AP

Both comebacking Belgians bounced their opponents today - Kim Clijsters over Andrea Petkovic 64 62 and Justine beat Ana Ivanovic 63 62 - setting up a mouth-watering final in Brisbane.

Lord only knows what to expect tomorrow.

Their matches over the years have been quite interesting. The head-to-head is 12-10 in Justine's favor which is pretty close but in all the matches that really mattered (Slam finals) it's all Justine. Justine has also won their last 3 meetings.

But...

They haven't played each other since the '06 Wimbledon semifinal so I'm thinking with their careers basically 'reset' we really shouldn't rely too much on the past. Keep in mind that this is Justine's first tournament back. But then again, it's only Kim's fifth.

This could easily be the Australian Open final in a couple of weeks.

PUMPED!  Photo: Getty Images 

Comebacking Belgian's Bouncing Along in Brisbane

This better not be any of this 'just dropped in, can't stay long' crap either.

Though the prospect of Roger meeting Rafa in the Doha final for the 21st installment of their legendary rivalry is quite juicy Kim and Justine could very easily upstage them should they meet in the Brisbane final this weekend. They are one match away...

However, neither Kim nor Justine advanced to the semifinals without struggling through tough three set affairs. Kim advanced with a hard-fought win over Czech Lucie Safarova, 61 06 64 - which is almost the identical score of her win over Venus Williams at the US Open. She'll next play Andrea Petrovic (who?) in the semis. At least her nice showing here will getting seeded within the top 16 players at the Aussie Open so a top player wouldn't have to see her before the 4th round. Yes, you can breathe a little easier Dinara.

Justine had her hands quite full with Melinda Czink (again, who?) and this little drama wouldn't be settled until a 3rd set tie-break where Justine eventually prevailed, 62 36 76(5). Justine will play #3 seed Ana Ivanovic, who is looking to rebound after a very dismal '09 season, in the semifinals where Justine holds a 4-0 head-to-head.

Ah, a Roger/Rafa - Kim/Justine weekend would be pure bliss.

Photos: Getty Images

Dinara Safina says, “I’m 100%. I’m ready to play.”

That's great news for those long-suffering Dinara fans.

Photo: Medibank International website

Dinara arrived in Sydney from a 30 hour flight from Nice to play the Medibank International which begins Sunday as part of the Australian Open Series.

In an interview on the tournament website she had this to say about her comeback from back injury, "I'm 100 per cent. I'm ready to play. If I play my best, let's see what can happen."

A first Slam title perhaps? Only if the 'chicken' from Roland Garros has been fried!

She also had some very kind words about the Justine Henin's return (remember Safina handed Henin her last loss in Germany in '08 before she said so long), "Justine is a great player and I really respect and admire her a lot so it's nice to see her back and happy on a tennis court."

Welcome back Dinara. 

Battle of the Comeback Kids: Kim Clijsters Beats Alicia Molik in Brisbane

At some point soon we will stop calling Kim's story a comeback.

Appearing in only her 5th tournament back from retirement Kim Clijsters has the look of a player who never left. I'll give it another few tournaments or her eventual cracking of the top 10 to cease the 'comeback story' and just go with the fact that she is just back. Very back.

In today's match she played a player in the midst of writing her second comeback story - Alicia Molik. First there was that odd ear virus in 2005 and then just after she bombed out of the '08 Olympic games she announced her retirement - again. Brisbane marks her first tournament back and although she enjoyed a hard-fought 1st round win over Makarova she managed only three games against Clijsters, 60 63.

Most in the tennis world would love to see Clijsters in the final against Justine Henin - yet another comeback story on the WTA Tour. And after beating #2 seed Petrova in the first round it looks highly likely. Of course Ana could spoil the party...

Kim admitted to watching Henin's match and had this to say about Henin and the possibility of an all-Belgian final, "She was moving really well. Didn't look like she'd left. Of course, it will be a good challenge, but there's a lot of other girls I look forward to playing as well."

Forget that - the other girls can wait!

Photo: AP

Justine Henin Wins 1st Match in Her Comeback Bid

Ok, I'll admit it - I was never a Justine Henin fan. When she retired I just shrugged my shoulders and thought I wouldn't miss her. The nearly two years that followed on the WTA Tour was a (near) complete bore. Now, I doubt I'm going to find myself cheering her on whole-heartedly but this time around I plan on embracing her return to the game. It's much needed.

And poor Nadia Petrova, the #2 seed in Brisbane had the misfortune of being Justine's first victim and though it was a tight two set affair the Belgian former #1 secured her first comeback match, 75 75.

Said Justine after the match, "Mentally, I was able to play my best when the score was tight at the end of both sets. I really enjoyed being out there - that's what I'm going to remember today."

Knocking Petrova out of the way and suddenly Henin looks like a good bet to get to the final. Her only real obstacle would be a potential semifinal against Ana Ivanovic - who herself is on a bit of a comeback trail.

Wouldn't it be something if we got both comebacking Belgians to play each other in the final? Then of course I'm back at square one - pulling for Henin's opponent.