Henin: Sharapova will win the Open
World number one Justine Henin has anointed Maria Sharapova as the Australian Open champion-in-waiting, after being on the receiving end of an almighty shellacking in the quarter finals.
The Russian won 6-4, 6-0 to hand Henin her first defeat since Wimbledon. The Belgian was blown off the court in 98 minutes in arguably Sharapova’s most complete performance in a grand slam.
“She’s been much more aggressive and looked like it was her day and probably her tournament,” Henin said.
“She looks like the player who is really confident now, and she has a great chance to do it, I think.”
Just two months ago, the pair played out an extraordinary three and a half hour WTA tour championship final, won by Henin. Tonight was a completely different story. Sharapova jump-started the world number one, and while Henin enjoyed a good period near the end of the first set, the Russian never let her opponent off the hook.
“She improved quite a lot in the last few weeks and came back much better than she was last year,” Henin said.
“She worked hard, I think, in the off-season.”
After Serena Williams’ surprising exit in the day session, Henin was a heavy favourite to take the title. Not only was the Belgian sitting on a 33-match winning streak, but she was barely troubled here, her form ominous.
“I think that I haven’t been aggressive enough. I haven’t taken the opportunities. (Maria) did put on me a lot of pressure. I knew I had to play my best level, and I wasn’t today,” Henin said.
While refusing to make excuses, Henin suggested she was having knee discomfort.
“I was really concerned about my knee for a few days. So I was a bit anxious, because I knew I wasn’t really 100 percent.
“It’s just my knee is getting old.”
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