Photo source: Gazzetta
What can I say. Congratulations to Henin!!! However, the game itself was extremely borring. Kuznetsova looked very confused and hopeless. She is still one of my favorite Russian tennis players. Here is a more official report on the match:
(Via Sports Network) - Justine Henin finished off a dominating two weeks at the U.S. Open, blitzing Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-1, 6-3 for her seventh Grand Slam title.
It capped a monumental effort for Henin, as she beat the Williams sisters back-to-back and became the first person to do it en route to a Grand Slam title. Henin disposed of Serena in the quarterfinals, and then ousted Venus in Friday’s semifinals.
Not only that, but the top-seeded/world No. 1 Belgian, also the 2003 U.S. Open champion and last year’s runner-up to Russian Maria Sharapova, did not drop a set at this ‘07 fortnight.
Also, Henin moved to 15-2 all-time against the fourth-seeded Kuznetsova, who overcame fellow Russian Anna Chakvetadze on Friday, but lost in her second U.S. Open final in four years. She won the title in 2004, beating Elena Dementieva for the championship.
“It’s very tough. I think the match was much closer than the score,” Kuznetsova said. “When she plays her best game I have to play my best game. I didn’t play my best game so that’s why I lost. I felt I just didn’t move to the ball well enough because I was pretty tight.”
Kuznetsova, who failed in her attempt for a 10th career title, will nonetheless rise to No. 2 in the world rankings next week, her career debut in the top two.
Amazingly, this was the 16th straight Grand Slam that nobody won back-to-back titles. The last person to achieve two major title runs in a row was in fact Henin, who captured the 2003 U.S. Open and the 2004 Australian Open.
Henin’s 36th career title gained her $1.4 million, while Kuznetsova netted $700,000.
