Serena Williams survived a dismal start and erased two
championship points in the second set to beat top-ranked Justine
Henin 0-6, 7-5, 6-3 and win the Sony Ericsson Open on March 31.
"When I get down, a part of me just plays better," Williams
said. "I think all champions have that."
The comeback was nothing new for Williams, who revived her
career by winning the Australian Open in January for her eighth
Grand Slam title. Once ranked No. 1, she fell to 140th last July
because of long layoffs but will climb back to 11th on Monday.
Williams closed out the victory with a service winner, accepted
gracious congratulations from Henin and then waved her index finger
for the cheering crowd, intent on returning to the top.
The match was 39 minutes old before Williams won a game, and
Henin was twice one point from the title serving at 5-4 in the
second set.
"I said, 'I don't want to lose this fast. At least let it last
an hour,"' Williams said.
Perhaps she learned how to deal with such stressful situations
from her older sister. Serena was a spectator when Venus Williams
fended off eight championship points to beat Jennifer Capriati in
the 2001 Key Biscayne final.
With Henin serving at 40-15, Williams saved the first
championship point by smacking an overhead winner after skipping
her return off the net. She reached deuce by hitting a strong
forehand to force an errant backhand by the Belgian.
Two points later, Henin slipped and took an awkward tumble,
skinning her left knee, and she lost the next six points. She fell
again trailing 3-0 in the final set and remained seated on the
sunbaked concrete for nearly a minute, as if debating whether to
concede.
The feisty Henin rose and rallied for 3-all, before Williams
began one final surge to earn her fourth Key Biscayne title.
"She's a fighter," Henin said. "It's tough to close the matches
against her, because she goes for it. She's a champion, and that
makes a difference from the other players, for sure."
Playing in only her seventh tournament in the past 18 months _
and her first since Melbourne _ Williams improved to 15-1 this year
and 41-5 at Key Biscayne.
Two first-time Key Biscayne finalists will meet for the men's
title on Sunday: 29-year-old Argentine qualifier Guillermo Canas
and 19-year-old Serbian Novak Djokovic.
Williams vs. Henin was their first meeting in nearly four years.
There were hard feelings in both camps after Henin beat Williams in
the 2003 French Open semifinals, but they engaged in a warm
conversation following the revival of the rivalry.
"The relationship is very good now," Henin said. "We have a lot
of respect for each other. We both agree that we are very good
players. So what happened in the past is far away from now."
Henin, a five-time Grand Slam champion playing in her first Key
Biscayne final, used her vast array of shots to control the early
rallies. Williams was off balance and struggled in vain to control
the groundstrokes that overpowered top-seeded Maria Sharapova and
others in previous matches.
By the third game, Williams was flailing her arms in
frustration. Two games later, she threw her racket. Then she
screamed at herself. She lost the first six games for only the
second time in her career, and won just six points in her first
four service games.
"I figured I could do a little better," she said.
Williams finally won a game by breaking for 1-all in the second
set, then needed 16 points in the next game to hold for the first
time.
"I was making a lot of errors," Williams said. "Justine was
moving up to the ball and blasting winners. I had to lift the level
of my game and stop making errors."
The crowd was in Williams' corner and roaring as she began to
rally.
"I remember I missed a shot, and the whole crowd was like,
'Awwww,"' she said. "It was really like they were all leaning on
that one ball, and everyone was so involved. At that point, I just
was having a good time. I was just like, 'Wow, this is fun.' I
continued to fight."
Her groundstrokes became steadier, and she started moving
forward more aggressively. Also contributing to the turnaround was
some tentative play by Henin, who hit two double faults serving for
the title at 5-4 in the second set, and another when she lost serve
to fall behind 5-3 in the final set.
Williams trailed love-40 serving in the final game before she
swept the last five points. She converted her first championship
point, curling in a 77-mph (124-kph) kick serve that handcuffed
Henin.
The serve skipped off the sideline and Williams hesitated,
unsure whether the shot was good. She then dropped her racket and
grinned sheepishly at her narrow escape and latest title, the 28th
of her career.
Williams also won $533,350 (euro400,500). Henin settled for
$266,675 (euro200,000).
(China Daily via AP April 2, 2007)