Henin thrilled with win

ByEurosport

Published 10/06/2006 at 20:11 GMT

Justin Henin-Hardenne won her third Roland Garros trophy in four years on Saturday afternoon and the Belgian couldn't be happier about it. Henin was pleased with the way she played but admitts she did suffer alot in the game.

2006 Henin Roland Garros final

Image credit: Reuters

Justine Henin-Hardenne won her third French Open title in four years by beating Svetlana Kuznetsova in straight sets in Paris.

Henin-Hardenne, who hasn't drop a set in the whole tournament, appeared to be heading toward an easy win early on in the match, as the Russian struggled with her serve and had trouble keeping the ball in play during long rallies.

But after trailing 1-4, 2004 US Open champion Kuznetsova pushed herself and began to dictate much of the play off her own serve.

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She broke back to 2-4 behind groundstrokes, dictating with her forehand and rushing to the net.

"She's been very powerful. She tried to put a lot of pressure on my serve. I was playing too short. Physically I did suffer a lot," Henin-Hardenne admitted.

TENNIS 2006 French Open final Henin-Hardenne

Image credit: Reuters

But while Henin-Hardenne was unable to penetrate Kuznetsova's service games for the rest of the set, she more than held her own in her final service game, serving well on big points.

The Belgian, who lives in Monaco, held on to win the first set with a 182km/h ace followed up by another big serve and a forced forehand error from the Russian.

Kuznetsova came out flying in the second set, taking the first two games at love as Henin-Hardenne looked winded.

But Henin-Hardenne broke back to 1-2 and regained her composure as the Russian began to break down, losing control of her forehand.

Henin-Hardenne broke her back to 2-2 with a brilliant backhand crosscourt pass and then re-seized control of the contest.

"I didn't use the chances I had. I had so many of them," Kuznetsova said.

"And she served well some important moments on the lines. But the rest, I was 2 Love, 30 Love, and I felt like I'm in control, same as I was in the end of the first set.

2006 Kuznetsova Roland Garros final

Image credit: Reuters

"Then you just miss two balls and then you lose your chance, you know. You let her come back into the match. And if you keep losing, keep missing, you know, you keep letting her back, it's not possible to win."

Kuznetsova managed to hold in the next game, but it was clear that her confidence was shaken and the Belgian sensed that.

Instead of playing passively, Henin-Hardenne began to attack and broke Kuznetsova to 4-3 with a huge return, a crisp backhand volley down the line and a steaming overhead.

"It was a crucial game at 3 all in the second. I played my best tennis. I did return and volley. I took the opportunity," Henin-Hardenne explained.

"So I probably didn't play my best tennis during the whole match, but at very important games, that's what I did. That's been the same during all my seven matches this week."

Both women then held, but in the last game, Kuznetsova couldn't find the high level that she displayed in ousting Czech Nicole Vaidisova in the semifinals, while Henin-Hardenne stood strong.

2006 Kuznetsova Roland Garros final

Image credit: Reuters

The Belgian nailed an ace, a backhand down-the-line winner and on her second match point, saw Kuznetsova sail a forehand return long.

Henin-Hardenne then raised her arms, blew kisses to the crowd and waved to her husband, Pierre-Yves, and coach Carlos Rodriguez.

"In June, it's 10 years - 10 years of trust, 10 years of respect, 10 years of ups and downs, and we're still together," Henin-Hardenne said of her coach.

"It's amazing. I will never play tennis without him. That's the only thing I know right now."