2008 Sydney Final: Henin Vs Kuznetsova: Power Marries Grace

Now that the French Open euphoria has died down and there’s a bit of a lull in between, as we head to the third Grand Slam of the year in two weeks, I decided to relive old memories and go through a few YouTube videos when I stumbled upon this one.

 

This is a video consisting of some of the best points of the match played between two French Open champions—past and present—Justine Henin and Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final of the 2008 Medibank International in Sydney.

Played on the blue Plexicushion, this drama-filled match lasted for two and a quarter hours and was dotted with some incredible hitting by both players and the grace and finesse that has become rare these days in women’s tennis.

Justine Henin was the then reigning World No. 1, having begun 2008 on the back of the most successful year of her career in 2007 when she had won 10 titles and had ripped through almost every opponent.

Svetlana Kuznetsova was the World No. 2 player and had lost her last encounter to Henin at the U.S.Open ’07 Final. Determined to exact revenge, she was playing some of the most inspiring tennis.

Played at the prestigious Sydney Olympic Park, this match was a crowd-puller being played between the top two seeds and saw Justine begin the match slowly and take time in reading Sveta and get into her rhythm.

The video begins with Sveta serving at 4-2 0-15 up in the first set with a break.

Sveta goes for an all-out attack keeping Justine rooted to the baseline and forcing her to play defensively. An unbelievable mover on the court that she is, Sveta confidently uses the entire space, nicely moving towards the net with her footwork just accurate.

She unleashes a barrage of pounding topspin forehands, throwing in crosscourts and keeping Justine scrambling for the lines and also sliced the ball going to the net. Justine, the tremendous athlete and the amazing retriever that she is, manages to retrieve every single ball.

But Sveta ultimately pays the price for allowing Justine to come forward and play that beautiful forehand down the line pass which leaves Sveta paralysed at the net.

The second point of the video has Sveta serving at 1-3 0-15 down in the second set, having won the first set 6-4.

Sveta this time fails to get an opportunity to move forward being pushed back by some heavy topspin groundstrokes from Justine from the baseline.

Watch how Justine utilizes her flexibility with a squash shot and then flummoxes Sveta with a laser-sharp backhand down the line. The incredible shoulder rotation from the petite frame of the Belgian culminating into that perfect backhand she manages to achieve within a second is simply amazing.

The third point starts with Henin serving at 3-2 15-15 in the second set. Again a baseline battle but Kuznetsova inches forward and keeps Henin out of the court but is dumbfounded by the same deadly Henin running backhand down the line.

This backhand is all the more surprising because she doesn’t have that entire backswing yet manages to execute it flawlessly.

At the fourth point, Kuznetsova serves at 0-15 in the third set after losing the second set. An awesome baseline rally ensues in which Justine controls the rally and tires Kuznetsova with her depth and compels her to run from side to side as her grunts become louder.

Finally Justine pushes her out of the court which leaves the court open for her to execute that same backhand down the line that proves to be the thorn for Sveta yet again.

The penultimate fifth point which is perhaps the best point, has Justine serving at 2-3 30-15 in the third set.

Look how Sveta again makes some excellent court coverage and rushes to the net only to run all the way back to the baseline to make a successful backhand return of a brilliant lob by Justine and get fooled again by Justine’s superior forehand-down-the-line which falls right on the line.

The final point has Justine serving at 5-4 40-30 matchpoint when she puts the pressure on Sveta with an inside-out forehand and two great backhands. Look at the stretch the final backhand covers, which Sveta returns long to hand Justine her third Sydney title.

The match remains as one played between two players who has exuded class and elegance and perhaps can play all the shots in the book. In the face of a spirited opponent, the stoic Henin uses her tactics and mental confidence well to edge out her opponent by a slight margin in a match worthy of remembrance.