Теннис

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Paris, France: Mixed doubles champions Daniela Hantuchova and Fabrice Santoro after beating Martina Navratilova and Leander Paes in Friday's final.

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Rafael Nadal and Mariano Puerta will grind it out in the first all lefty final at Roland Garros on Sunday. On Friday, Nadal celebrated his 19th birthday stunning Roger Federer while Puerta wore down Nikolay Davydenko

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1 (1) DAVENPORT, LINDSAY USA

5105.00 1737.00 17

2 (2) SHARAPOVA, MARIA RUS

5014.00 1569.00 20

3 (3) MAURESMO, AMELIE FRA

4477.00 1434.00 19

4 (4) WILLIAMS, SERENA USA

3991.00 1545.00 14

5 (5) DEMENTIEVA, ELENA RUS

3807.00 1359.00 20

6 (6) MYSKINA, ANASTASIA RUS

3371.00 1164.00 21

7 (7) KUZNETSOVA, SVETLANA RUS

3212.00 912.00 20

8 ( MOLIK, ALICIA AUS

2470.75 930.00 19

9 (9) PETROVA, NADIA RUS

2258.00 848.00 28

10 (10) SCHNYDER, PATTY SUI

2160.00 707.00 25

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Henin-Hardenne queen of France

Saturday, June 4, 2005

In a nearly perfect performance, Belgium's Justine Henin-Hardenne won her second Roland Garros title by devastating France's Mary Pierce 6-1, 6-1 in the final on Saturday.

Adeptly controlling the action from every angle on the court, Henin won her 24th straight match on clay behind a powerful serve, high variety backhand and a fearsome forehand.

The 30-year-old Pierce, who has played so well to reach her third Roland Garros final - never found her stride during the match. She was sporadic on her first serve, rarely returned well and was erratic from the backcourt.

The Frenchwoman was so excited to have another opportunity to win her favorite tournament that she could barely eat her breakfast. Henin was ravenous and munched through Pierce like she was swallowing a croissant with jelly.

Mary fights back the tears

"I have a lot of respect for Mary," said Henin. "It wasn't an easy situation for her. She had to deal with a lot of pressure. Being here in the final in France. And probably she didn't play her best tennis. But I pushed her a lot. Especially at the beginning of the match, I did put her under a lot of pressure, and then she started to make a lot of unforced errors. But I played very well, very aggressive at the beginning. I served very well during the whole match. For sure the crowd would've preferred a closer match than that, but I'm very happy the way I won."

In an emotional trophy ceremony, Pierce cried for a good four minutes before apologizing to the crowd for her lackluster performance. She had fought incredibly hard to return to the top echelons of the game after battling severe injuries for much of 2001 and 2002. Reaching her third final at Roland Garros when few expected her to be more than a spoiler made her proud. She had bittersweet moments on the podium.

"I had mixed emotions," Pierce said. "I was sad I lost and that the match went so fast. But I was happy to be able to stand there for the third time - it's unbelievable. I've had a lot of emotions during the past six days. I'm just so happy sometimes when I get messages from family and friends. I just get so happy to know I've come from where I've been and what I've been through. To think in my darkest moments that I'd be standing there again - that's what kept motivating me, to play big matches in big tournaments."

Even though she owned a 0-3 record against Henin entering the match, Pierce believed that if she hit the high level that she displayed in knocking off top seed Lindsay Davenport and Russian Elena Likhovtseva, that she stood of fair chance of hitting through the Belgian.

But Henin - who spent much of last year off the tour battling a debilitating virus -was impenetrable on the day, speeding around the court, taking big cuts on her ground stokes and turning up the heart whenever Pierce threatened her.

"I confirmed my talent once again this week," said Henin, who won her fourth Grand Slam title.

Henin strained during the first week, needing three sets to take down Conchita Martinez, Anabel Media Garrigues and Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Back from the brink

It was in her fourth round match against US Open champion Kuznetsova where Henin really turned the corner, when she looked all but dead three hours into the contest. But the Russian choked two match points against the steely-faced Belgian and from there, collapsed.

The Belgian then clocked three straight power hitters to win the crown: Maria Sharapova, Elena Likhovtseva and Pierce. But it was the Kuznetsova triumph that keyed her run.

"It's better than having no difficulties during the whole tournament. Everybody trembled when I had those match points against me. It was a miracle. But once I was back to the wall, I was able to become more calm. After that, there was no moment on the court where I was lost, no way the panic was going to take over" said Henin.

While she pushed her small but ripped frame through two weeks of brutal play, she didn't want to take a long nap after the final. The former number one proved to herself that if she is careful about not overplaying, she can be back on top soon.

"It's not a relief," she said of the title. "For sure, it's a big satisfaction. It's a great achievement. I've had a very difficult time last year and a lot of questions. Now I have a little bit of an answer. So that's very good. I didn't know if I was going to be able to be at my best level any more, and I think I proved it many times in the last few weeks that I'm back. So that's great. I was telling my coach and my husband before coming here, if I could only win one Grand Slam, it would be this one. So I did it today, and I'm really, really proud of it."

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Two lefties, one trophy

Saturday, June 4, 2005

A year ago, Rafael Nadal and Mariano Puerta could only watch the men's final at Roland Garros. Sunday, the 19-year-old Spaniard and journeyman Argentine will square off for the Coupe des Mousquetaires, hoping to put an exclamation point on their compelling Parisian campaigns.

The first all-left-handed French Open final since 1946 and the first at a Grand Slam since the 1998 Australian will either be the coronation of the game's newest star or vindication for a 26-year-old fighting to rebuild his career.

Nadal, the fiery teenager with lighting groundstrokes and unwavering confidence, is in his first French Open, unable to play the last two because of injury. The last man to win here in his debut was Mats Wilander in 1982, four years before Nadal was born.

He has stormed through the draw in Paris, highlighted so far by his four-set triumph over world number one Roger Federer Friday. Nadal has played 20 sets over six matches and won 18 of them.

Puerta, meanwhile, maybe the fifth or sixth name you would give if asked to pick an Argentine to reach the final, is in the midst of resurrecting himself from a nine-month steroid suspension. From a career-high of 18th in August 2000, his ranking plummeted as low as 440 last summer thanks to a lazy mistake.

To fight an asthma attack two years ago, a doctor gave Puerta clenbuterol, a Class I substance prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency code. Puerta might have escaped punishment had he informed the ATP, but he did not, so when he failed a drug test later in the year, he received a two-year ban (reduced when he proved that the drug had no performance-enhancing benefit).

This year, Puerta has won in Casablanca and reached the final of Buenos Aires to pull his ranking back into the Top 40. He predicted his semi-final run here, as long as he took care of 13th-seeded Ivan Ljubicic in the opening round, and made good with consecutive wins over Guillermo Canas (9) and Nickolay Davydenko (12) after trailing two sets to one.

"When I came back, I was prepared for very tough moments, prepared to be able to play anywhere. This is what I wanted," Puerta said Friday.

While the two perform best on dirt, their games are not necessarily similar. Both are adept defenders, but Nadal can win points with his quickness and powerful, well-placed shots, while Puerta wants to survive them. The short but stout South American will hope to outlast the muscular Spaniard with his retrieving skills.

Against Federer Friday, Nadal handled the Swiss' wide array of tactics. There will be no variety against Puerta, who is more than content to slug things out from the baseline - he went to the net just 17 times in his five-set semi-final victory over Nickolay Davydenko.

"He'll be difficult, you know, because it's Roland Garros," Nadal said in Spanish. "He's been playing very good tennis to be in the final. It will be a very complicated match. I'll have to play my best tennis, and only like that will I be able to win."

"With Nadal, it would be a battle, a battle because we're both left-handers. We both have the same kind of strokes," Puerta said after beating Davydenko Friday, unaware at the time whom he would play in the final. "We would both arrive at that match with huge self-confidence."

Nadal, now riding a 23-match winning streak that dates back to early April and includes tournament victories at Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome, plans to speak with Carlos Moya before his first career Slam final.

"It's always good to get the support of people who have gone through the same thing," Nadal said, a protégé of his fellow Mallorca native. "I might need some of his advice. I spoke to him before the tournament started and I know that he always supports me."

Nadal and Puerta have met three previous times - a Challenger event and Umag in 2003, Acapulco this year - with the Spaniard winning the last two in straight sets.

"I suppose we'll both be rather nervous in the final," Nadal admitted, "but I've played a lot of finals this year."

"Most import thing is that I'm not feeling that tired," Puerta said, even though he has spent 90 more minutes on court than Nadal. "I'm very happy because I've trained very well. I'm not a favourite in the final, but I might upset."

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Carlos Rodriguez: ''Justine’s health is still fragile''

Saturday, June 4, 2005

Justine Henin-Hardenne's coach, Carlos Rodriguez, was radiant after seeing his protege triumph at the French Open for a second time. Nevertheless he remains circumspect about the immediate future and isn't looking to regain the world number one spot just yet.

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That was a pretty quick final. Justine didn't let Mary get into the match...Yes, it was disappointing for the fans because it was over so soon, but for us it was great. Justine controlled the game and Mary let her. We're relieved, but it's a shame for the fans who must've looked forward to a closer game.

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Were you ever afraid Mary would turn it around?

Sure. Nothing's ever easy. Even when you're leading 6-1, 5-1, you can still lose. Everyone knows a tennis match is never over till the last point is won.

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Mary never really got going did she?

I don't know Mary very well, but I know what she had to do to reach the final. What happened today is nothing new. She was so keyed up that in the end she forgot the most Important thing, which is to go out and win the game. But we shouldn't be too hard on her. There is a lesson to be learnt. And we've also learnt this week that even after 30 women players can still compete. The whole country was behind her. She had a great run.

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Is Justine looking to get her No.1 spot back?

No. As I said before the tournament, this is a transition year for us. We still don't know how Justine is going to recuperate and how she will be feeling in the coming weeks. We need another 6 or 8 weeks before the niggling injury worries are behind us. It's fabulous to have won the French Open but we have to keep our feet on the ground. A champion's health is often very fragile...and you have to preserve it.

Translation: David Spratt (Sportstranslations)

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Bjorkman – Mirnyi crowned doubles champions

Saturday, June 4, 2005

Swedish veteran Jonas Bjorkman and Belarusian teammate Max Mirnyi snatched their first Grand Slam crown together on Saturday after their three-set victory over the Bryan brothers.

Bjorkman and Mirnyi, the No 2 seed, prevented the American team from repeating history on Saturday, ousting the 2003 Roland Garros champions and No3 seeds, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 in one hour and 32 minutes.

Despite his impressive doubles resume, Bjorkman, a seven-time men's doubles champion, had never captured the Roland Garros title. He reached the final here once in 1994 alongside compatriot Jan Appel.

Initially everything seemed to go right for Bob and Mike Bryan, who broke their opponent's serve twice to snatch the first set in 29 minutes.

But suddenly the US Davis Cup doubles team endured a monumental collapse at the start of the second set, conceding delivery twice as Bjorkman and Mirnyi, who started playing together regularly at the start of the year, stormed back to reel off five straight games to break even before rain interrupted play.

When play resumed after a solid half an hour, the two teams stubbornly held onto their deliveries until the crucial seventh game where Bjorkman and Mirnyi broke away for good to go up 5-3. One game later, Mirnyi served out the contest as Bjorkman jumped into his arms to celebrate victory.

Also on Saturday, John McEnroe alongside Yannick Noah lifted the men's over 45 legend's trophy while Sweden's Anders Jarryd and Michael Pernfors captured the title in the under 45 category .

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Mary – Justine: the figures

Saturday, June 4, 2005

Check out all the figures from the 2005 French Open final between Justine Henin-Hardenne (n°10) and Mary Pierce (n°21).

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0

Mary Pierce has yet to take a set off Justine Henin-Hardenne in four encounters

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1

For the first time in 75 tournaments, none of the top six women's seeds made it to the final.

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Вардан а финал у мужчин когда будет?

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1

For the first time since 1968, two French-speaking women met in the final.

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2

Justine Henin-Hardenne is the second woman in the Open era (since 1968) to win the tournament after saving match points. The Belgian saved two in her last sixteen game against Svetlana Kuznetsova. The first woman to achieve this feat was last year's winner Anastasia Myskina who saved a match point in her last sixteen game against… Svetlana Kuznetsova!

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3

Justine Henin-Hardenne is unbeaten in three final outings at Roland Garros. She won here in 2003 but also won the junior trophy here in 1997.

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3

Mary Pierce has played in 3 French Open finals at Roland-Garros. And each time she has beaten the world number one to get there: Steffi Graf in 1994, Martina Hingis in 2000 and Lindsay Davenport in 2005.

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3

Justine lost three sets in the course of her 2005 French Open campaign. Before beating Mary Pierce in the final the Belgian knocked out three Spaniards and then 3 Russians.

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4

Roland Garros 2005 was Justine Henin-Hardenne's fourth Grand Slam title after winning the US Open in 2003, the Australian Open in 2004 and Roland Garros in 2003. In doing so she beat Mary Pierce for the fourth time in as many meetings.

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5

Justine Henin-Hardenne and Mary Pierce were both competing in their fifth Grand Slam final. The first set was again decisive in that neither girl has ever gone on to win after losing the first set.

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6

2005 was Justine Henin-Hardenne's 6th appearance at Roland Garros