Henin-Hardenne Hits a Sweet Spot in Paris

That a truly great women’s final has yet to unfold at the French Open for Justine Henin-Hardenne is not a concern for the 24-year-old Belgian.

“I take these kind of finals every day,” Henin-Hardenne said. “I don’t wish for a three-set final.”

She wants to see a great men’s final today between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, not between her and anyone else.

The fifth-seeded Henin-Hardenne was talking in a small room with a group of reporters not long after her 6-4, 6-4 victory over eighth-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia in the final Saturday.

It was her third title here in the last four years, and fifth Grand Slam tournament championship, tying her with Venus Williams and Martina Hingis.

Henin-Hardenne played with the efficiency of a champion, getting through a final despite not playing her best while facing difficult circumstances. It was a warmer than expected day, hitting the mid-80s, and she needed an ice pack on her neck during changeovers.

“What are people going to remember -- that I played well from the beginning to the end or that I won the French Open?” she asked.

Kuznetsova probably will rue the way the second set slipped away. She won the first 10 points, going up 2-0 and 30-0, then took her foot off the accelerator.

“I don’t want to think about what could have happened,” said Henin-Hardenne, who is 11-1 against Kuznetsova. “She gave me some ‘oxygen’ at the beginning of the second set. That was very important for me to come back as early as possible in the set, and that’s what I did.”

Said Kuznetsova: “I’m saying I didn’t use the chances I had. I had so many of them.”

Martina Navratilova, who won twice here, presented Henin-Hardenne with the trophy.

“I don’t know if I’m happy or sad that I didn’t play against her,” Navratilova said. “I think she would have tried to come in more to beat me to the net, and I would have had to improve my backhand. We would have made each other better players.”

Henin-Hardenne did not lose a set in this tournament, and all three of her victories in the French Open finals have been in straight sets.

She had a controversial retirement against Amelie Mauresmo in the Australian Open final in January because of stomach pains and said Saturday that it was “a little bit in the back of my mind.” The court, usually, is a refuge.

“Being on the court is when I feel the most happy,” Henin-Hardenne said. “That’s the only thing that counts, enjoying my tennis, feeling healthy and then not really running after the titles and everything. But when I walk onto the court it’s for sure to win the match -- I hate to lose. I’m a real fighter.”

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Twins Bob and Mike Bryan of Camarillo couldn’t quite get past the hurdle of Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden and Max Mirnyi of Belarus in the men’s doubles final for the second consecutive year. Second-seeded Bjorkman and Mirnyi defeated the top-seeded Bryans, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 7-5, in 2 hours 30 minutes.

The Bryans lost to Bjorkman and Mirnyi in three sets here last year.

The Bryans reached their sixth consecutive Grand Slam tournament final, the first men’s doubles team to do so in the Open era.

“Basically same thing as last year,” Bob Bryan said. “We’d been holding pretty much the whole way through, then one game, you know, they lit it up.”

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Box score

Justine Henin-Hardenne (5) def. Svetlana Kuznetsova (8), 6-4, 6-4, in the women’s final of the French Open:

*--* Henin-Hardenne Kuznetsova 51 1st Serve Percentage 71 4 Aces 0 3 Double Faults 3 30 Unforced Errors 38 76 1st Serve Winning Pct. 60 44 2nd Serve Winning Pct. 45 16 Winners 17 4-7 Break Points 2-4 6-8 Net Points 12-16 69 Total Points Won 64

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* Time of Match: 1:36