01/04/2010

Allez Justine!

You'll read this everywhere, but Justine Henin was successful in the first match of her "comeback", defeating Nadia Petrova 7-5, 7-6 in Brisbane, Australia.

"Comeback" is in quotes because I view Henin's return from 19 months off the tour as more of a return from an extended sabbatical as opposed to a unretirement.

Despite having not played since before the 2008 French Open, Henin would have been favored in the match with Petrova, against whom she carried in an 11 - 2 head-to-head record.  Henin won their three previous meetings in straight sets, and had lost a total of only 7 of the 27 sets they played (one match was a walkover for Henin).

Jan 4, 2010 10:28:41 PM

The comments to this entry are closed.

NEXT POST
A New Venus for a new Decade? Over the weekend, Venus Williams lost to Maria Sharapova in straights sets in an exhibition match played in Thailand. At the beginning of each tennis season, we wonder which Venus will appear at the Australian Open. The Venus we see at Wimbledon each summer? Or the Venus we typically see the other 9 or 10 months of the tennis year. Whatever we wish for, the numbers from the last decade don't offer much hope that the elder Williams sister will be a legitimate contender in Oz. Here's what they tell us: For all of the talk of injuries and outside...
PREVIOUS POST
Federer Expresses Increased Desire for 2010 Roger Federer appears ready to expand his trophy case at the start of the new decade, but something about his comments doesn't quite ring true. Federer's four titles in 2009 were all high quality (two majors and two Masters 1000 events), but when he says he "barely" played any smaller events, I'm not sure what he is referring to. Federer played all but one of the Masters 1000 events in 2009, and while he took home two titles in his two finals, he lost in the semifinals of three (Indian Wells, Miami, Rome) and before the semis in Monte Carlo,...