|
Post by Brinyi on May 8, 2005 10:17:13 GMT -5
Nadia eleveled the match and it's raining in the third with JHH leading 2-1
|
|
|
Post by Brinyi on May 8, 2005 10:52:50 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by DBBN on May 8, 2005 15:00:36 GMT -5
Eurosport says: The Belgian will rise to No 11 in the world rankings should she win in Berlin. Actually, I was hoping it would be even higher than that ... that's what I get for reading posts at wtaworld! I'm pretty sure I know to what post/thread you're referring. That retard was saying AFTER ROME the winner of the Henin/Schnyder SF would be Top 10 because he assumed that Vera will not be able to defend her SF points. Granted...he'll probably be proven correct about that, but he did not articulate himself well at all and it seemed like every poster there was confused and also confusing the situation further.
|
|
|
Post by DBBN on May 8, 2005 15:03:30 GMT -5
Anyway...man, it's almost getting too easy again, isn't it? Just like the old days So...it's a bird now? No longer a bear?
|
|
|
Post by janie on May 8, 2005 16:16:18 GMT -5
Awww! What a nice pic of happy, tired Justine! So what exactly is this Bear thing, Hurley? I went to the Justine forum @ wtaworld but I was lost in a sea of mysterious Bear-talk.
|
|
|
Post by DBBN on May 8, 2005 16:54:02 GMT -5
Awww! What a nice pic of happy, tired Justine! So what exactly is this Bear thing, Hurley? I went to the Justine forum @ wtaworld but I was lost in a sea of mysterious Bear-talk. For as long as I can remember, the German Open trophy was a bear. Martina and Justine both having hoarded this title in the past, I am intimately familiar with it But yeah...it's a Qatari event now, so that would explain the switch to an Arabian-looking bird.
|
|
|
Post by janie on May 8, 2005 17:39:39 GMT -5
For as long as I can remember, the German Open trophy was a bear. Martina and Justine both having hoarded this title in the past, I am intimately familiar with it But yeah...it's a Qatari event now, so that would explain the switch to an Arabian-looking bird. Ah, thanks! Yeah, I guess bears are in short supply in the Middle East. They probably seem like mythical creatures there, like kangaroos do here. At least to me.
|
|
|
Post by janie on May 8, 2005 20:12:47 GMT -5
timesonline.co.uk
May 09, 2005
Henin-Hardenne earns her rest after feats of endurance
From Neil Harman, Tennis Correspondent in Berlin
THERE has been enough light and shade in Justine Henin-Hardenne’s remarkable life for her experiences at the Rot-Weiss Club yesterday to have been little more than a memorable inconvenience. Having to start the Qatar Total German Open final three times was nothing compared with the joyous release of winning the title for the third time.
This time last year, the Belgian was in the first cycle of the cytomegalovirus that came with strength-sapping vigour at various stages through 2004. Still she does not know if it has been fully driven from her system. Carlos Rodríguez, her coach, publicly wondered whether this might have been one championship too much after successive wins in Charleston and Warsaw, but he knows that, even partially clad in cotton wool, Henin-Hardenne is some competitor.
Having come here straight from Poland, she was forced, because of rain on Monday, to play two matches in a day to get through the first two rounds, was taken to three sets in her first three matches, defeated Maria Sharapova in a quarter-final in which so much pride was invested, swept past Patty Schnyder in the semi-finals and then faced Nadia Petrova, the Russian who had beaten her in the fourth round of last year’s US Open, when Henin-Hardenne was nowhere near as well as she would have wanted.
The former world No 1 has not recovered her ranking strongly enough yet to be granted a bye in this tournament, the women’s equivalent of a Masters Series event, so Petrova, the No 6 seed, had played a match and 20 games fewer coming into the final. At the end of an enthralling battle, which Henin-Hardenne won 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, both players had done enough to be considered among the contenders for the French Open, which starts a fortnight today.
Henin-Hardenne will take time off in Monte Carlo, put her feet up and think about tennis again by the end of the week. There is nothing wrong with her game. The forehand is creeping up to the backhand in terms of sheer, punishing beauty — a couple of cross-court shots yesterday would not have shamed Roger Federer — her serve wins more free points than it once did and if she seems trapped farther into the court than she used to play, her racket control is such that she can turn defence into attack in a split second.
There has been so much to admire this past week and she feels it, too. “I have a lot of time to play,” she said. “When the game goes too fast it is different, but on the clay I can organise my game and have found a good balance between aggression and patience. I know everyone will be talking about Paris; it is a tournament that is really special for me, but right now I want some rest and not to answer any questions for a while.”
At the second interruption for rain, she stood two points from victory. Half an hour later, with another burst of warm sunshine, she emerged to play two fabulous points, two forehand winners, a stunning coup de grâce.
Henin-Hardenne deserves her break, but there is no rest for the wicked. Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski open their programmes at the Hamburg Masters Series today, both against German wild cards in Lars Burgsmüller and Philipp Petzschner respectively. Should the British pair win, they will meet in the second round. [;D Now that's a truly British ending!]
|
|
|
Post by Brinyi on May 8, 2005 20:24:31 GMT -5
Now that's a truly British ending!]
|
|
|
Post by janie on May 10, 2005 6:54:03 GMT -5
From the JHH web site: Une arme à double tranchant... 09/05/2005: Dans deux semaines, les premiers matches du deuxième tournoi du Grand Chelem battront leur plein. Cette semaine, au tournoi de Rome, nombreuses sont les joueuses qui foulent une dernière fois la terre rouge avant le rendez-vous parisien. Justine,quant à elle, a déjà fait le plein de matches sur sa surface préférée. Place au repos et aux entraînements, pour arriver en forme et reposée à Roland Garros... Avec 17 victoires sur 17 sur terre battue, Justine sera affichée comme la grande favorite de Roland Garros... "J'en suis consciente, c'est sûr, on ne peut pas le nier. Roland Garros, c'est une arme à double tranchant pour moi, c'est un endroit où j'ai envie de briller, j'y ai donné le meilleur, j'y ai donné le plus mauvais, on va essayer cette année de vraiment donner le meilleur de soi-même." Après un mois fort chargé, Justine s'est rassurée. Elle est parvenue à enchaîner Varsovie et Berlin, et a tenu le coup, physiquement et mentalement. Elle s'accordera quelques jours de repos, avant de reprendre l'entraînement, sereinement, à Monaco... "Je serai heureuse de pouvoir enfin m'isoler quelque peu du monde et ne plus voir de journalistes pour me poser des questions. J'ai un grand besoin de décompresser afin de retrouver la fraîcheur nécessaire pour repartir." Durant ses futurs entraînements, Carlos Rodriguez insistera encore sur la technique, car tout ne fut pas parfait... "Pour moi, rien n'est fait" a expliqué son coach. "Cette semaine, à l'entraînement tout allait bien, mais cela ne l'a pas empêchée de devoir constamment disputer trois sets en match [Hey, don't be such a killjoy, Carlosito!] Ce qui l'a sauvée, c'est qu'elle s'est battue." Trois titres sur quatre tournois disputés en 2005... Et dire que cette année n'est encore qu'une année de reconstruction... "Je n'oublie pas que l'année 2005 doit servir à me reconstruire afin de frapper un grand coup en 2006" a précisé Justine. "Je veux continuer à faire évoluer mon jeu en suivant l'exemple d'André Agassi qui, à 35 ans, se remet encore en question et cherche à s'améliorer. Entre-temps, je suis en train de revenir dans la course, ce qui est exceptionnel..."
|
|
|
Post by Brinyi on May 16, 2005 9:27:25 GMT -5
"Justine est toujours en convalescence physiologique. Ses récents examens médicaux, effectués après le tournoi de Berlin, l'ont encore démontré. Elle connaît des coups de pompe, des périodes de déconcentration, des rafales de dix ou douze points où elle est absente. Je l'ai déjà dit et je le répète: cette année est une année de transition."
-- C. Rodriguez, formerly coach of Dick Norman, ew ew ew
|
|
|
Post by janie on May 16, 2005 13:04:23 GMT -5
How does Nadal figure into it ? ("des rafales de dix ou douze points")
|
|
|
Post by janie on May 22, 2005 12:02:38 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by janie on May 22, 2005 12:46:24 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by janie on May 24, 2005 6:47:43 GMT -5
Whew!!Well, I confess I wasn't that nervous. I just couldn't see Conchi closing it out if she got the opportunity. In the past few years she has choked when she had a chance for a big win. Justine choked a few times in this one, of course. But we JHH fans are used to that. She's one of the best at de-choking, so I don't worry too much!
|
|
|
Post by janie on May 26, 2005 6:10:58 GMT -5
Henin overcomes back problem to reach third round PARIS, May 26 (Reuters) - Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne shrugged off a back problem to reach the French Open third round with a 6-1 6-4 win over Spain's Virginia Ruano Pascual on Thursday. The 2003 champion appeared to be on a roll when she raced into a 5-0 lead but raised concerns about her fitness when she called in the trainer to receive treatment on her back. After undergoing some stretching exercises, 10th seed Henin-Hardenne continued to dominate her Spanish opponent until she attempted to serve for the match at 5-2 in the second set. However, she was broken to love after producing two consecutive double faults. Having wasted three match points on Ruano Pascual's next service game, she finally secured victory on her fourth attempt when the Spaniard made a forehand error.
|
|
|
Post by janie on May 27, 2005 17:33:21 GMT -5
Justine plays 2nd tomorrow on Court 1, following a women's match, so it should be fairly early (which I definitely get the impression she prefers.) Allez Justine! Crush that Funky cold!
|
|
|
Post by janie on May 28, 2005 12:21:53 GMT -5
From her interview, it seems that Justine was very pleased with this match and thinks that she played great. Unfortunately, her side of the draw hasn't got a day off, and tomorrow she's got tough Kuz. Kuz also went 3 sets, but was not on the court nearly as long as Justine. I think these hot dry conditions definitely favor Kuz. So I guess I will just have to hope that she will choke. ;D
|
|
|
Post by janie on May 28, 2005 12:23:48 GMT -5
hey, who am I talking to here? I see no one else has posted here since May 16th. I guess i should switch over to talking into the mirror, and save my typing fingers.
|
|
|
Post by vaiva on May 28, 2005 13:52:13 GMT -5
Everyone is calm and relaxed here. We are waiting for the final
|
|
|
Post by vaiva on May 29, 2005 9:47:06 GMT -5
Potentially a tough match today for our Juju. I'm counting on her fighting spirit and lapses of concentration from Kuzzy which she had aplenty this year. Allez, show them who's the real BOSS
|
|
|
Post by janie on May 29, 2005 14:50:24 GMT -5
This rain might help Justine! Hope the courts get real heavy, like in Hamburg. Justine up first tomorrow on Chartrier. ALLEZ!
|
|
|
Post by vaiva on May 30, 2005 9:01:29 GMT -5
Justine is really the king!!!!! I'm hoping for the rainy and damp conditions for her QF match
|
|
|
Post by janie on May 30, 2005 12:07:38 GMT -5
Q. Just after the final matchpoint, you looked at the sky and raised your hands. Can you say something about that?JUSTINE HENIN?HARDENNE: Yes, this is something very deep. It's difficult for me to find the words. I know that she is with me; I know that she will never let me down during that tournament.
|
|
|
Post by Brinyi on May 31, 2005 7:30:55 GMT -5
6-4! Justine Henin-Hardenne! Justine Henin-Hardenne!
|
|
|
Post by vaiva on May 31, 2005 8:26:42 GMT -5
6:4 6:2
|
|
|
Post by Brinyi on May 31, 2005 11:54:16 GMT -5
I like this:
PARIS (CP) - From the start, Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne's wide variety of sharply angled shots had Russia's Maria Sharapova staggering across the clay in vain pursuit. With drop shots, deft volleys and picturesque backhands, Henin-Hardenne kept Sharapova on the run Tuesday and easily advanced to the French Open semifinals, winning 6-4, 6-2.
/me wishes he'd seen the tennis lesson!
|
|
|
Post by vaiva on May 31, 2005 13:13:45 GMT -5
Or, as one of the few sane commentators of Eurosport says:
"She is the federer of the women's game"
|
|
|
Post by janie on May 31, 2005 16:17:37 GMT -5
Or, as one of the few sane commentators of Eurosport says: "She is the federer of the women's game" Well, let's just say that TODAY she was that! I had to miss a portion of the match so I thought I was taping it, but the tape screwed up. I saw plenty of great JHH serving, great JHH game, and befuddled Maria, though. It was fun looking at Maria's teenage face looking all frustrated and cranky. ;D
|
|
|
Post by Brinyi on Jun 2, 2005 8:48:16 GMT -5
JHH in the final, whooooouuuuu
|
|