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Mauresmo Holds Nerve to Win Title
Saturday, 8 July, 2006
In a match where she might so easily have crumbled, top seed Amelie
Mauresmo magnificently captured her second Grand Slam title of the
year on Centre Court. Having surrendered the first set and seen a
hard-earned break of serve in the second wiped out, Mauresmo found
the strength to overcome Justine Henin-Hardenne 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 to
take her first Wimbledon title. She is the first Frenchwoman to
accomplish the feat since the great Suzanne Lenglen in 1925.
The moment of victory could hardly have been in greater contrast to
Mauresmo’s triumph over the third-seeded Belgian at the Australian
Open in February, her only previous taste of Slam success. On that
day, illness prompted Henin-Hardenne to withdraw early in the second
set and the match culminated in an anti-climactic handshake at the net.
At 4.13pm this afternoon after two hours and two minutes of play,
Mauresmo got to experience that explosive moment of joy, and she
crumpled to her knees in disbelief.
No wonder. Henin-Hardenne was in the ascendancy from the very outset,
immediately relaxed and into her stride. Mauresmo had won the toss and
elected to serve, amid gusting breeze. But the number one seed’s first
serve was slightly uncertain – unlike the rest of the tournament,
throughout which it was one of her strengths – and her decision to
serve and volley was an interesting one.
Henin-Hardenne, 24, had three separate break points in that opening game,
instructing herself under her breath as she walked back to the baseline:
“Allez!” Mauresmo’s serve saved the first two, but the Belgian’s
assault from the net converted number three. If Mauresmo did not know
it already, Henin-Hardenne was demonstrating that she was a far better
volleyer than Maria Sharapova, whom Mauresmo vanquished in the semi-finals.
The 27-year-old Frenchwoman appeared a little tense but came up with a
backhand down the line to hold her next service game, which should have
helped soothe any edginess. She bided her time, and at 2-3 got a chance
to break back when Henin-Hardenne sent a forehand long. But Mauresmo’s
lingering tightness saw it go begging, and the next game the French Open
champion had another opening of her own. She grabbed it with the ruthless
shot-making which has typified her campaign this Wimbledon fortnight, and
suddenly she was serving for the set. It was a storming game, and she
capped it with an ace to wrap up the set in 31 minutes.
Whatever happened in this match, of course, Wimbledon was guaranteed
a new champion as neither woman had previously lifted the Venus
Rosewater Dish. Indeed, this was the first final this century not to
feature a Williams sister, and the first in eight years not to feature
an American. Henin-Hardenne came into the match with a 5-4 career
advantage over Mauresmo but they had never previously met on grass,
widely regarded as Mauresmo’s best surface. Yet here she was a set down.
Many a time, a set like that first one would have signalled a second
set in much the same vein for Mauresmo. But not only did she hold her
own serve with apparent confidence (unlike in the first), but earned
two points to break for 2-0. A great winner from Henin-Hardenne rescued
the first, but she sent a forehand way long to hand over the game. When
Mauresmo held, it seemed almost as if the Belgian was experiencing nerves
– not something commonly associated with her. Only her volleying saved
her from a double break for 0-4.
Mauresmo inched her way towards levelling the match, watching a new chance
for the 5-1 double break go by. In a contest increasingly defined by mutual
tension, both women were playing well below their optimum performance. Had
Mauresmo seen footage of Henin-Hardenne’s semi-final against Kim Clijsters,
in which she trailed by one break three times, only to emerge the straight
sets victor? Maybe. At 2-4 Henin-Hardenne had two chances to break back,
and a Mauresmo backhand went way long.
But, far from crumbling, the Frenchwoman was energised. She forced two
chances to steal the lost break right back again, and a forehand crosscourt
strike did the trick, to the visible agitation of Henin-Hardenne. It gave
Mauresmo the chance to serve out the set, but the Belgian made her fight
for it until Mauresmo delivered her fourth ace. It was not done easily,
but it was done. The decider beckoned.
Sport’s endless capacity to produce the surprise story made the final
set anyone’s guess. Plenty would have expected Henin-Hardenne – who has
won at least one Slam tournament every year for the last four seasons –
to romp away with the match in the second set. But it just didn’t happen;
indeed, this was the first match in her last 14 Slam jousts where she
surrendered so much as a set to an opponent. Would that shock her into
defeat, or bounce her to victory?
Early in the third, Henin-Hardenne was once again the one to tighten up,
when unforced errors brought about a 1-2 break. The iron-clad forehand
with which she had played the first set was a distant memory, and the
legendary Henin-Hardenne backhand would yield not one baseline winner
during the entire match. Only her reflexes at the net saved a point
for 1-4. Meanwhile Mauresmo was returning beautifully. At 5-4 she served
for the match. A forehand volley brought up Championship point, and
Henin-Hardenne sent a forehand into the net. The ultimate tournament
belonged to Mauresmo, at last.
Written by Kate Battersby
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