Return to Red Reign

The French Open could almost serve as a family album for Justine Henin-Hardenne, the ideal way to record snapshot memories and trace her remarkable development.

She’s morphed from a slight, solemn teenager who fell apart serving for the match in the third set in the second round against Lindsay Davenport in 1999 to a strong, self-possessed woman who won her second French Open and fourth Grand Slam singles title on Saturday.

It was a ruthless display of efficiency, blending power and guile, and the combination drove her opponent to tears during the trophy ceremony. The 10th-seeded Henin-Hardenne, of Belgium, needed only 62 minutes to dismiss 30-year-old Mary Pierce of France, winning, 6-1, 6-1, and extending her winning streak on clay courts to 24 matches.

“I’m not at my best. I think I can do better,” said Henin-Hardenne, who was hampered by a sore back and hamstring. “... But I think I enjoy probably more my game than before the illness, so that’s the biggest key. I enjoy every moment I’m on the court. Every ball I hit, it’s with my heart.”

In 2004, she lost in the second round here, a mere shadow of a defending champion, suffering from a career-threatening virus.

Saturday’s result was the most one-sided in the French Open women’s final since Steffi Graf defeated Natasha Zvereva, 6-0, 6-0, in 1988. Unfortunately, it was another women’s final lacking in suspense. Last year, Anastasia Myskina of Russia lost three games against her countrywoman Elena Dementieva.

Last year, Dementieva broke down in tears when asked about her weak serve. The toughest moment for Pierce was when she had to make a speech after the final, following Henin-Hardenne.

She took in long, deep breaths, looking miserable, and it was painful to watch Pierce try to stave off the tears, an impossible task.

“At that moment, it was very strong -- too strong,” Pierce said of the gamut of emotions. “... After all my work during the past year, it was mixed emotions. It was being sad and disappointed because I lost and played a bad match.”

Give her points for accuracy. It went from bad to worse for Pierce after she won the opening game. It would take her until the 46-minute mark to win her second game. Pierce said she wasn’t nervous, though a handful of botched shots suggested otherwise. One easy smash went straight into the bottom of the net in the second game of the second set.

Henin-Hardenne had something to do with it. She never dropped serve and faced one break point. She improved as the tournament progressed, not dropping a set in her final three matches after surviving two match points in the fourth round against Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia.

Her longtime mentor and coach, Carlos Rodriguez, said he had mentally packed his bags when Kuznetsova held the match points. “I’m thinking we go home,” he said Saturday. “I’m very realistic. Kuznetsova says, ‘I gave the match to Justine.’ I say, ‘Justine, say thank you to her.’ ”

Rodriguez has been arguably the most important influence in her life, providing a steadying influence and emotional base. They are starting their 10th year together and holding back is not part of his style.

What helped turn Henin-Hardenne’s career around, among other things, was a discussion following the 2003 Australian Open. She reached the semifinals, losing, 6-3, 6-3, to Venus Williams, and Rodriguez was not pleased, saying, “It was no match.”

Time for some straight talk.

“I say, ‘Look, it depends on what you want to do. You have everything, the body and the game to do more than that,’ ” he said. “ ‘It’s up to you. What do you want to be? A good player? A champion, Justine Henin?’ She told me, ‘I don’t understand.’

”... Graf, [Chris] Evert, [Martina] Navratilova, you say the name and that’s it, everybody understands. Inside of her, very deep, she wants to try to do the same thing with her name.”

Later that year came the first Grand Slam tournament title, the 2003 French Open. Now, Henin-Hardenne is tied with Venus Williams with four and has moved past Davenport, who has three.

Now it all looks so easy: the long winning streak and four tournament titles in 2005. But 2004 and the virus are never far from her mind, not with the still-necessary blood tests. During her long layoff, Henin-Hardenne said she didn’t watch much tennis because it was too painful.

So, for the much-needed adrenaline rush she took up a nice, quiet diversion: skydiving.

“Because I was away from the court, I didn’t have the strength [to play], so I needed to find something else. And it was my dream and I went with my husband and I loved it so much,” she said Saturday in an interview with several reporters. “Maybe in the next few days I will go and do another jump to celebrate my victory.”

Her fearlessness on the court does not extend to the sky. Does she get scared after 13 jumps?

“All the time,” she said, smiling. “That’s why I’m doing it. I’m a little bit crazy. But I am doing it because it makes me nervous. It’s great. Everybody has to do it once in their life.”

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Box score

Justine Henin-Hardenne defeated Mary Pierce, 6-1, 6-1, in the French Open women’s final:

*--* Henin-Hardenne Pierce 1st-serve percentage 56 69 Aces 2 1 Double faults 3 5 Unforced errors 15 29 1st-serve winning pct. 83 45 2nd-serve winning pct. 50 25 Winners (including service) 14 10 Break points 5-8 0-1 Net points 6-6 4-10 Total points won 59 32 Time of match 1:02

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