Pierce Prevails, Ousts No. 7 Seed Henin-Hardenne
by William Toussaint
Monday, September 5, 2005
No. 12 Mary Pierce smiled broadly several times during her 6-3, 6-4,
victory against No. 7 seed Justine Henin-Hardenne on Monday night in
the fourth round of the women's singles at the US Open.
Of course Pierce had plenty to be happy about, including finally
breaking her four-match losing streak to the former 2003 US Open champion.
Pierce prevailed in straight sets against Henin-Hardenne and proved
nearly flawless in the first set by racing to a 5-0 lead on Arthur
Ashe Stadium.
"It's always nice to beat someone you haven't beaten before," said
Pierce, who reached the fourth round last year in the US Open but
has never made it further. "I gave everything I had tonight and fought
and didn't give up."
Pierce advances to the quarterfinals where she will face fellow Fed Cup
French teammate and No. 3 seed Amelie Mauresmo, who defeated Russian
Elena Likhovtseva, 6-1, 6-4. Mauresmo has not lost a single set yet
in this year's US Open.
Fans packed Monday night's match in Arthur Ashe Stadium, which seemed
split equally between supporters of Pierce and Henin-Hardenne. But
perhaps almost every one of those fans was surprised with the relative
ease in which Pierce handled her opponent in the first set. In their
last match at the French Open finals, Henin-Hardenne had defeated
Pierce 6-1, 6-1, in a stunning 61 minutes. But this time it was Pierce
who raced to a 5-0 lead in the first set, allowing Henin-Hardenne only
four points in that period. The Belgian finally answered back by winning
three straight games before Pierce closed out the set.
"I was playing unbelievably in the beginning," Pierce said.
Henin-Hardenne stayed closer to Pierce in the second set but found
difficulty in getting any closer thanks to a total of 10 double faults.
Pierce, on the other hand, had four aces and a paltry unforced error
total of 16.
http://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/reports/2005-09-05/200509051125972310717.html
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