Recharged Henin Sets Sites on Career Slam

Henin begins comeback at the 2010 Australian Open.

Justine Henin didn’t let the suspense linger any longer; the world’s former top-ranked player will make her pro re-debut at next year’s Aussie Open in January 2010.

The rumors of Henin’s return have been swirling for weeks now. She says her primary goal is to capture the only Grand Slam title not currently on her resume – Wimbledon.

Henin’s best showing at Wimbledon was a 2007 semifinal loss to Marion Bartoli. Henin, a 7-time Grand Slam champion, left the game in May 2008 when she was the number player in the world.

At the time, she said tennis had taken too much of a physical toll on her and would not return to the game. Obviously, the 27-year-old changed her mind.

"A flame I thought was extinguished forever suddenly lit up again," Henin told a Belgian television audience on Wednesday.

Many wonder if that flame was rekindled earlier this month, when she watched countrywoman, Kim Clijsters, complete a comeback journey of her own – winning the 2009 U.S. Open Title.

Henin is slated to play multiple exhibition tournaments before trying to add another Australian Open to her resume next January.

Justine Henin Ready to Hit the Tour Again?

Justine Henin maybe eyeing a comeback, but keeping it quiet.

A week after Kim Clijsters grabbed an unlikely win at the U.S. Open, another Belgian star, Justine Henin, is reportedly ready to announce her comeback to professional tennis. Henin was ranked number in the world when she called it quits in May 2008.

Two of Belgium’s top newspapers, the La Derniere Heure and Le Soir reported the comeback on Monday. Henin holds seven Grand Slam singles titles including four French Open wins and two at the U.S. Open.

Clijsters quit when she was at the top of the women’s game citing a variety of physical issues that would never allow her to return to the tour.

There’s been a great deal of speculation regarding her return to tennis, but Henin herself has yet to release a statement.

Henin did take the take the time to congratulate her countrywoman on her website after Clijsters knocked out both of the Williams sisters en route to her U.S. Open title win earlier this month.

Tears of Joy as the "Working Mom" Kim Clijsters, Claims her 2nd U.S. Open Title

Clijsters falls to her knees after claiming the 2009 U.S. Open

When this tournament started more than two weeks ago, Kim Clijsters, the 2005 U.S. Open Champion, had more than a few obstacles in front of her:

1) It was only her third tournament back.
2) She gave birth to a baby girl 18 months ago.
3) She had the toughest draw in the entire tournament.

That’s no exaggeration either, Kim Clijsters absolutely had the toughest draw in women’s tennis and won the title by beating 5 seeded players including the Williams sisters, Serena ranked #2 and Venus ranked #3. And let’s face it, the top seed, Dinara Safina was no threat - she was out by the 3rd round.

So what began as a possible experiment for Clijsters, slowly started to take the shape of an unlikely run to the championships. After taking out Venus in 3 of the strangest fourth round matches played in a long time at Flushing Meadows, the chance was there. The question was, could Clijsters seize it?

Clijsters ran over the the 18th seed, Na Li in the quarters, setting up a semifinal showdown against the most dominant woman in tennis during the past year, Serena Williams. Clijsters played a brilliant match and served possibly the best match of her life against Serena. Serena lost the match on a penalty point, but Clijsters had certainly earned the victory.

The “working mom” made it to the final where she faced her third top ten opponent in just four rounds, the 9th seeded player from Denmark, Caroline Wozniacki. The 19-year-old Wozniacki made a spirited contest of it in the first set. Both women combined to drop their serves seven times in the first set before Clijsters took it 7-5 and the next one 6-3.

She dropped to her knees as tears of joy ran down her face. Clijsters made the perilous climb into the family’s box and was treated to a standing ovation from the crowd. When Kim made her way back down, she posed for multiple pictures alongside of her 18-month-old baby girl and her husband. It was a touching end to a very strange tournament and Clijsters savored every moment of it.

Temper Tantrum Sends Seething Serena Packing

Serena blows a gasket and any chance to defend her title.

The rain cleared and all finally seemed right in the tennis universe when Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters took the court Saturday evening. But when it was over, Serena, Kim and a stunned national audience could only shake their heads and wonder how things went so wrong, so quickly.

Kim Clijsters won the contest 6-4, 7-5, despite the fact that she never got to play a match point. The problems began when Serena lost her temper after dropping the first set 6-4. She bounced her racquet once, took a look at it and then crushed it on the court.

At the point, the chair umpire issued a code violation (behavior warning) against Serena. Once a player is issued a warning, the next punishment is an actual loss of a point. That warning set the stage for an ugly and premature end to this match.

Clijsters was up 6-5 in the second set. The score was deuce and Serena had just struck a second serve when the linesperson inexplicably and mistakenly called a foot fault. This foolish call gave Clijsters a match point and that’s when Serena lost it.

She stalked over to the chair gesturing wildly and showering the offending linesperson with a searing stream of expletives. The linesperson went to the chair umpire and the tournament referee, Brian Earley, came to the court. Serena spoke to them and learned that her tirade and verbal abuse had earned her an un-sportsmanlike conduct point penalty. Since it was match point, game over, SERENA LOST.

Serena walked over to Clijsters, shook her hand and congratulated her. Poor Kim looked devastated. This was not the way she wanted to win and the pleasure of her victory was tainted.

All the credit to Clijsters who played a great match and served brilliantly. Despite the bizarre outcome, Clijsters earned her spot in the finals. She will go for her second U.S. Open title on Sunday against the 9th seeded Caroline Wozniacki.

Wozniacki breezed past unseeded Yanina Wickmayer 6-3, 6-3 to reach her first U.S. Open Final.

Friday Washed Away – Tennis Schedule Revamped

Washout Friday: The more they rolled - the more it rained.

A day and night of the rain on Friday wreaked havoc with the schedule at the U.S. Open Tennis Championships that will now be extended until Monday.

Here’s the latest schedule which of course is still at the mercy of Mother Nature.

Rafael Nadal is slated to resume his match against Fernando Gonzalez at noon on Saturday at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The weather of course, is still in question, but Nadal is up a set and on serve in a second set tiebreaker, 7-6, 6-6(3-2).

Once Nadal in finished, the schedule calls for the first women’s semifinal featuring Wozniacki versus Wickmayer.

The premier women’s semi, Serena Williams versus Kim Clijsters is set for the night session on Saturday beginning at 8pm.

The men’s semifinal matches, will be played on Sunday and the women’s final has been shuffled to Sunday evening starting at 9pm.

The men’s final which was to be played Sunday, will now be played on Monday. There will be a quiz after reading this!

Wet and Nasty Conditions Looming: Serena and Clijsters Up First – Nadal Match to Resume

On the women’s side, this is the clash that many people hoped for. Serena Williams has yet to blink running through 5 rounds of tennis like she was on vacation. The “Working Mom” Kim Clijsters is one of the great “feel good” stories of the tournament.

Clijsters won’t feel good for long. She’s been very impressive so far, but no woman on the planet is match for Serena right now. Williams serves too well, moves too fast and hits too hard for anyone to pose a serious threat. But Clijsters had a great run.

After that match wraps up, Rafael Nadal will resume his contest against Fernando Gonzalez. Nadal’s match got suspended last night, not once, but twice. Rafa is up a set and on serve in a 2nd set tiebreaker by a score of 7-6, 6-6(3-2).

Nadal aggravated an abdominal injury last night, but should be able to push past Gonzalez. The cold and wet conditions are apparently compounding the injury issues for Nadal and today’s conditions won’t be any better than the weather was last night.

Although advancing to the semis would be a great accomplishment for Nadal, he would run into the red-hot Juan Martin Del Potro. Del Potro struggled with the wind early in his match against Marin Cilic, but then overcame the conditions and swatted Cilic away 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1.

No one wants a piece of Del Potro including Nadal. But Nadal has pressing issues to take care of this afternoon, before he can worry about the semis.

Day 9: Kim Clijsters in Search of the Semis

Some outstanding headlines on tap for Day 9 at the 2009 U.S. Open Championships including the breathtaking comeback of unseeded Kim Clijsters and her return to professional tennis. Clijsters won a thriller against Venus Williams during the weekend and says it is these types of moments -- that made her long for a return to the game.

She took Labor Day (yesterday) off without hitting so she would be fresh for her early afternoon quarterfinal match against the 18th seed, Na Li from China. Clijsters, the 2005 U.S. Open Champion has to be the favorite in this one having already dispatched Venus in three tough sets. Look for her to cruise to a straight set victory today.

Serena Williams, a three-time U.S. Open Champion is playing in the other quarterfinal against Italy’s Flavia Pennetta. Pennetta has enjoyed a remarkable run in this tournament, but Serena is playing on another level right now. If Italian veteran manages more than 6 games against Serena in the entire match, that would be an accomplishment.

On the men’s side, "My Darkhorse Pick from Day I" 6th seeded Juan Martin Del Potro should have no trouble today against the 24th seed, Juan Carlos Ferrero. Del Potro had some injury issues in his last match, but says he’s feeling great again. I still believe (perhaps foolishly) that Del Potro will claim his first grand slam title here against Roger Federer on Sunday. He's too tough and too fast and is ready to shock the world.

Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal remain on a semifinal collision course. But Nadal has to get past a tricky fourth round match against the Frenchman, Gael Monfils. Nadal reaggravated an abdominal strain in his 3rd round match against Nicolas Almagro and had to get taped up during the match. Monfils has also had some injury issues, so health will be a factor for both players. Look for Nadal to advance in four sets.

As for the second seeded Andy Murray, he’s had some up and downs in this tournament so far, but should take care of business rather handily against the 16th seed, Marin Cilic from Croatia.

Clijsters Stuns Venus, Serena on Auto Pilot

Moms have more fun, Kim Clijsters into the quarters.

Talk about a comeback story that would make Rocky blush -- Kim Clijsters, the 2005 U.S. Open Champ has been out of tennis for the past two years. She left the game to start a family and recently had a baby girl. Clijsters returned to Arthur Ashe Stadium with a vengeance on Day 7 at the U.S. Open with a strange, but convincing 6-0, 0-6, 6-4 win over the 3rd seeded Venus Williams.

This was only Clijsters' third tournament back, but she now finds herself in the quarterfinals of the world’s toughest tennis tournament with a possible semifinal run-in against Serena Williams, looming on the horizon.

Venus Williams on the other hand, ran hot and cold during week one at the Open because of a nagging knee issue. Her topsy-turvy loss to Clijsters was a prime example of her struggling game and limited mobility.

Venus came out flat and slow this afternoon and paid the price with an embarrassing 6-0 loss in the first.

Just when you thought Venus was down and out, she returned the favor with a bagel of her own, dropping Clijsters 6-0 in the second.

No one, including the players, had any idea what to expect when the third set started. Clijsters came out firing, broke Venus early and ran away with the 6-4 win in the deciding set.

If Clijsters can get through to the semifinals, she would likely face Venus’s kid sister, Serena Williams. Serena needs no introduction, owning 11 grand slam championships of her own, including three U.S. Open titles.

I wondered earlier in the week if Serena was peaking too early. Today, I got my answer. Unlike the unseeded women who tormented Dinara Safina all week long – the players who face Serena look downright helpless.

Today’s 6-2, 6-0 demolition of Daniela Hantuchova was just another illustration of Serena’s dominance.

The defending U.S. Open champ looks like she’s on the practice courts, getting to every ball and hitting winners at will. This seemingly stress-free version of Serena is having her way with all who dare to trespass on her court. She’s dropped only 17 games in 4 matches and her toughest test so far (if you can call it that) was a 6-3, 7-5 drubbing of Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez in the 3rd round.

Should Serena Williams match up against Clijsters in the semis, it has all the makings of a classic.

The 2009 U.S. Open Championships featured a wealth of young talent this week including 17-year-old Melanie Oudin. But the young are not likely to inherit this tournament. This year's title will ultimately belong to one of the champions from tournaments past. 3-time winner, Serena is certainly the favorite to repeat, but the 2005 champ, Kim Clijsters has earned her way into the conversation.

Day 3 Review: Venus Hurting, Rafa Running Wild

                     How far can Venus go on a bum knee?

Rafa Nadal is showing no ill-effects from the double knee tendonitis that kept him on the sidelines for the majority of the summer. He jumped on top of Richard Gasquet from the start and never let up. He has lumbered into the last several U.S. Opens looking a little bit haggard. Not this year – he’s playing with purpose and I think he wants his number one ranking back. He certainly has his work cut out for him, but if Rafa were to win the title here, he would regain his number one status.

In a tale of three knees, Venus Williams has a much darker prognosis. She is struggling with her left knee and her opponents will only get tougher from here. Early on in her 6-4, 6-2 win over Bethanie Mattek-Sands, she lunged for a ball that left her grimacing for the next five minutes. It was unclear which upset Venus more, the pain in her knee or the terrible knee-high socks that her opponent was strutting around the court in.

Assuming that Venus fights her way past her 3rd round opponent, Magdalena Rybarikova, she could potentially meet a recharged and hungry Kim Clijsters in the fourth. Clijsters had to fight back from a set down to beat the 14-seeded Marion Bartoli from France 5-7, 6-1, 6-2. She has fire in her eyes and is looking to reestablish herself at the top of the women's game.

Two-time grand slam winner and 17th seed, Amelie Mauresmo crashed out in the 2nd round today after being soundly beaten and bageled by Aleksandra Wozniak 6-4, 6-0. 15th seeded Sam Stosur also made an early exit today after a 7-5, 6-4 loss to the 20-year-old American, Vania King.

Kim Clijsters Dominates Day 1 at the U.S. Open - Day 2 Preview Features Tall Order for Djokovic

Kim Clijsters serves notice that her retirement is O-V-E-R!

There were a few surprises on Day 1 at the 2009 United States Open Championships – some good and some bad. Let’s start with Kim Clijsters who wasn’t just good, she was great. It wasn’t that long ago that the 2005 U.S. Open Champion retired to have babies.

Well sheeeee’s back! The former number two player in the world put on a clinic at the Open on Day 1 with a 6-1, 6-1 demolition of Viktoria Kutuzova. She will be heavily favored in her next round against the Frenchwoman, 14th seeded Marion Bartoli. It’s hard to determine whether Clijsters is just that good or if the state of the game could use some help.

By winning his first round match on Day 1 at the U.S. Open, top-seeded Roger Federer became the first and only person in tennis history to win a record $50 million dollars in prize money. This was also his 35th straight win at the U.S. Open.

Andy Roddick doesn’t have quite the same resume as Federer, but he also breezed into the second round of the U.S. Open with a late night straight sets victory over Bjorn Phau 6-1, 6-4, 6-2.

Not to be outdone, Serena Williams also booked her space into the second round of the U.S. Open with a straight sets victory of her own.

Her Big Sis, Venus Williams, had anything but an easy time -- as she had to dig deep to stave off elimination. She displayed the heart of a lion during the late night edition of Day 1 at the Open. Venus overcame a left knee issue and a spirited effort by Vera Dushevina by limping to a 3-set victory in their late night contest. It was later reported that Venus had issues with her left knee throughout the summer and tweaked it at the beginning of her match.

15th seeded Samantha Stosur nearly missed the second round after eaking out a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 over Japan’s Ai Sugiyama. It was the same story for Tommy Haas who overcame an afternoon of shaky play by barely beating Columbian qualifier Alejandro Falla.

Day Two provides some interesting matchups including a tough first round opponent for Novak Djokovic who faces former world number 3, Ivan Ljubicic. Djokovic leads their head-to-head meetings by a count of 3 to 1, but their matches are usually quite close. This match could go five sets and Novak needs to be on his toes for this one.

Second seeded Andy Murray faces the volatile Latvian named Ernests Gulbis. Gulbis has a big game that still hasn’t reached its potential and he is unlikely to have his coming out party against the likes of Murray.

The woman’s top seed, Dinara Safina is in action on Day 2 along with the fourth seed, Elena Dementieva. Neither one of these woman should be stressed out by their early round matches. The real trick for them would be overcoming anyone sporting the last name of Williams.