NEW YORK - Let those big-spending spectators or TV types gripe about Justine Henin's lopsided Grand Slam final victories.
She'll take 'em. Every last one.
Capping a dominant run, the top-seeded Henin overwhelmed No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-3 Saturday night to win her second U.S. Open title and seventh major championship overall.
“I had two amazing weeks,” Henin said, “and played my best tennis.”
Henin, also the 2003 Open winner, didn't drop a set all tournament and became the first woman to win a Grand Slam after beating both Williams sisters along the way.
Kuznetsova matched the fewest number of games for an Open women's runner-up in the past 31 years, making Henin work for less than 1.5 hours.
In the men's final Sunday, No. 1 Roger Federer will meet No. 3 Novak Djokovic. Federer is aiming to become the first man since the 1920s to win the American Grand Slam four years in a row, while Djokovic will be playing in his first major final.
Federer beat No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko 7-5, 6-1, 7-5 Saturday, after Djokovic eliminated No. 15 David Ferrer 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.
If it wasn't clear already, Henin has cemented her status as the No. 1 woman in the game today.
Just how good has she been in 2007? She won two majors and a tour-leading seven titles while going 50-4 at 11 tournaments.
Still, she's apparently not a household name. During the trophy ceremony, CBS announcer Dick Enberg referred to her as “Justine Henin-Hardenne” - even though she dropped that hyphenated part when she left her husband at the beginning of the year. That split was Henin's reason for skipping the Australian Open; otherwise, she might have another major title to her credit.
The other time Henin won the Open, a representative of the main tournament sponsor called her “Christine” while presenting the champion's trophy and check.
Against Kuznetsova, Henin finished with a 25-11 edge in winners and saved all six break points she faced, including three in the final game.
She showed off all aspects of her versatile game, from volleys - winning the point on 13 of 16 trips to the net - to passing shots on the run to returns of serve, punctuating most with shouts of “Allez!”
Henin missed her trademark backhand on the match's first two points, then went to work, taking nine of the next 10 points while going up 4-0. Even when she faltered, double-faulting twice in a row at 3-0, she recovered to hold, throwing her 5-foot-5, 125-pound frame into a 110 mph service winner and a 98 mph second-serve ace.
Now that's gutsy.
In the next game, a fan perhaps hoping for something more competitive - or wishing an American were involved - yelled out, “Let's go, Venus!”
As CBS analyst Mary Carillo pointed out on-air to viewers, it's been 12 years since the U.S. Open women's final went three sets, adding: “We've had some real blowouts.”
This was no exception.
AP-ES-09-08-07 2208EDT
Capping a dominant run, the top-seeded Henin overwhelmed No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-3 Saturday night to win her second U.S. Open title and seventh major championship overall.
“I had two amazing weeks,” Henin said, “and played my best tennis.”
Henin, also the 2003 Open winner, didn't drop a set all tournament and became the first woman to win a Grand Slam after beating both Williams sisters along the way.
Kuznetsova matched the fewest number of games for an Open women's runner-up in the past 31 years, making Henin work for less than 1.5 hours.
In the men's final Sunday, No. 1 Roger Federer will meet No. 3 Novak Djokovic. Federer is aiming to become the first man since the 1920s to win the American Grand Slam four years in a row, while Djokovic will be playing in his first major final.
Federer beat No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko 7-5, 6-1, 7-5 Saturday, after Djokovic eliminated No. 15 David Ferrer 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.
If it wasn't clear already, Henin has cemented her status as the No. 1 woman in the game today.
Just how good has she been in 2007? She won two majors and a tour-leading seven titles while going 50-4 at 11 tournaments.
Still, she's apparently not a household name. During the trophy ceremony, CBS announcer Dick Enberg referred to her as “Justine Henin-Hardenne” - even though she dropped that hyphenated part when she left her husband at the beginning of the year. That split was Henin's reason for skipping the Australian Open; otherwise, she might have another major title to her credit.
The other time Henin won the Open, a representative of the main tournament sponsor called her “Christine” while presenting the champion's trophy and check.
Against Kuznetsova, Henin finished with a 25-11 edge in winners and saved all six break points she faced, including three in the final game.
She showed off all aspects of her versatile game, from volleys - winning the point on 13 of 16 trips to the net - to passing shots on the run to returns of serve, punctuating most with shouts of “Allez!”
Henin missed her trademark backhand on the match's first two points, then went to work, taking nine of the next 10 points while going up 4-0. Even when she faltered, double-faulting twice in a row at 3-0, she recovered to hold, throwing her 5-foot-5, 125-pound frame into a 110 mph service winner and a 98 mph second-serve ace.
Now that's gutsy.
In the next game, a fan perhaps hoping for something more competitive - or wishing an American were involved - yelled out, “Let's go, Venus!”
As CBS analyst Mary Carillo pointed out on-air to viewers, it's been 12 years since the U.S. Open women's final went three sets, adding: “We've had some real blowouts.”
This was no exception.
AP-ES-09-08-07 2208EDT
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