The Hindu : Justine Henin-Hardenne and Federer triumph

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 23, 2004

Sport

Sport - Tennis

Justine Henin-Hardenne and Federer triumph

INDIAN WELLS, MARCH 22 Roger Federer of Switzerland and Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium played up to their No. 1 rankings, both winning Pacific Life Open titles in straight sets.

Federer beat nemesis Tim Henman of Britain for just the second time in eight meetings, 6-3, 6-3 on Sunday, to take his third title of the year. Federer's only loss in his last 28 matches was to Henman earlier this year in Rotterdam.

Henin-Hardenne used a dazzling mix of shots to beat former No. 1 Lindsay Davenport of the United States 6-1, 6-4 in the women's final.

Federer was virtually error-free against Henman, with the Swiss star making only five unforced errors to 19 by his English opponent.

The reigning Wimbledon and Australian Open champion, Federer had his service broken just twice in six matches at Indian Wells. Henman never even had a break point against him in the final.

Henman was in the title match for the second time in three years; Lleyton Hewitt of Australia beat him 6-1, 6-2 two years ago.

Henin-Hardenne's victory, which came in 40-degree C (104-degree F) heat, gave the 21-year-old Belgian her fourth title of the year, and she's off to a 22-1 start.

Her last loss in one of the WTA Tour's major Tier 1 tournaments was 25 matches and almost a year ago, to American Chandra Rubin at Key Biscayne, Florida.

Davenport lost for only the second time in 17 matches this year.

When Davenport hit shots that looked impossible for Henin-Hardenne to reach, she often managed not only to chase them down, but ripped back winners on the run.

Davenport, on the other hand, frequently could only stand and watch as Henin-Hardenne banged shots down the lines that were well out of reach.

After Henin-Hardenne dominated the opening set, Davenport came back to take a 3-1 lead in the second before Henin-Hardenne won four of the next five games.

Davenport, a two-time champion and five-time finalist at Indian Wells, fought off three match points in the final game, which went to deuce seven times. But Henin-Hardenne, who won three points with perfect lobs that Davenport couldn't chase down, ended the match by driving a forehand just inside the line.

Davenport again stood at the baseline with no chance at the ball. Henin-Hardenne clenched both fists and raised her arms, then rushed to the net and gave Davenport a hearty handshake.

Henin-Hardenne lost her first five matches against Davenport, starting in 1999. But she's 3-0 against her since, including a 7-5, 6-3 victory in the recent Australian Open quarterfinals.

The two were to play the week before, in the semifinals at Sydney, but Davenport withdrew because of a shoulder strain.

The results (final):

Men's singles: Roger Federer bt Tim Henman 6-3,6-3.

Women's singles: Justine Henin-Hardenne bt Lindsay Davenport 6-1, 6-4.

Men's doubles: Arnaud Clement & Sebastian Grosjean bt Wayne Black & Kevin Ullyett 6-3, 4-6, 7-5.

Women's doubles: Virginia Ruano Pascual & Paola Suarez bt Svetlana Kuznetsova & Elena Likhovtseva 6-1, 6-2. — AP

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