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ROLAND GARROS 07 - For 20 Hearts And More
05/06/2007:
Justine soars into the semi-finals by defeating 8x grand slam champion Serena
Williams 6-4 6-3. The Belgian queen of clay took over proceedings from the
opening game, and left Williams looking lost without the diversity of shot
making in her American armour to challenge in the match. Justine now leads
Serena 4-1 in their career head to head on clay. Justine will play Jelena
Jankovic on Thursday in the semi-finals.
Justine played Serena in a match that was billed as the real final for Roland
Garros 2007 by tennis pundits and tennis fans. The hype had been incredible
in the tennis media, and sports pages since the draw was released on May 25
with some even tagging this quarterfinal as the "revenge" match. Justine lost
their most recent encounter in Miami at March, which also happened amazingly
enough their first since Wimbledon 2003. Tennis fans have waited four long
years to see one of the greatest rivalries in the women's game this decade.
And here it was again in less than two months.
Justine broke Serena in the opening game in the first set, and never looked
back.
The quality of the match was of very high standard from the first game to the
Justine match point. Both players were never passive, and the agenda was to
impose their own signature brand of tennis. Williams seemed to go more for a
hardcourt flavour with shorter points. The hardcourt approach has worked
throughout the fortnight with the trademark immaculate Williams serves, even
allowing Serena to experiement with clay court sliding, but against Justine
there was no penetration of winners. The long rallies in the match were of
the modern blend and filled with forehand cross court shots with more length
and sharp corners than what Suzanne Lenglen could ever imagine. Justine took
the first set 6-4.
The second set started with a bit of the infamous Roland Garros locals vocal
displeasure at Serena Williams for a temper induced racquet flung to the
ground after Justine broke her opening service game. There was minor awkward
moment in the next few games as both players kept their focus, and chose not
to exploit the crowds vocal participation. At 3-3 Justine again broke
Serena's serve, and held her own. The strongest selection in Williams
repertoire failed to hold up against Justine's savy clay court replies. It
was game, set ,match at 6-4 6-3 to the Belgian queen of clay.
Final Score 6-4 6-3 in 1hr 18 mins
Fans and supporters, you can leave Justine a personal message in her
Guestbook as she continues her annual Roland Garros journey.
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