Tennis

A women's final with a French accent

Fan favorites Pierce and Henin-Hardenne waltz through the semifinals.

By wire services
Published June 3, 2005

PARIS - Two comeback trails converge Saturday when Mary Pierce and Justine Henin-Hardenne meet in the French Open final.

Both former champions have rebounded from ailments that stalled their careers, and both easily defeated Russian opponents Thursday. First, Henin-Hardenne beat Nadia Petrova 6-2, 6-3, then Pierce won even more quickly, eliminating Elena Likhovtseva 6-1, 6-1.

That set the stage for an appealing showdown between Pierce, who hails from Sarasota but claims French citizenship, and Henin-Hardenne, who grew up in the French-speaking part of Belgium. Each seeks her second Roland Garros title.

"A fantastic final," Henin-Hardenne said. "It's going to be another great day."

Pierce won the title in 2000, then fell out of the top 100 in 2001 because of injuries. Henin-Hardenne won in 2003, then missed much of last year with a blood virus that left her bedridden.

"Justine's had some tough things in her life," Pierce said. "I'm pleased to see her in the final."

Since returning in March from a seven-month layoff, Henin-Hardenne is 26-1 and has won 23 consecutive matches, all on clay. She has also won the U.S. and Australian Open, but Roland Garros is her favorite stage.

"I feel like I'm at home here," Henin-Hardenne said. "There are a lot of memories coming back. Playing a final here is such a reward after being out for so long."

One day after celebrating her 23rd birthday, Henin-Hardenne started fast against Petrova and finished the same way. She swept the final four games and skipped consecutive winners off the baseline to reach match point.

When Petrova then sailed a forehand long, Henin-Hardenne raised her arms and broke into a triumphant grin.

"I'm a bit tired," she said, "but I'm winning match after match."

Pierce needed only 58 minutes to advance. She finished with 26 winners, just 11 unforced errors and a big grin, then covered her mouth as if in disbelief while the crowd roared.

Likhovtseva, seeded 16th, was playing her first semifinal in 46 career Grand Slam tournaments.

"I struggled with it," Likhovtseva said. "And, well, she won."

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer meet today in a men's semifinal showdown touted as the match of the tournament, if not the year. It features the game's top two players in peak form: Federer, entrenched at No.1 and bidding to complete a career Grand Slam at age 23; and Nadal, the teen sensation who has won five tournaments this year and emerged as the biggest threat to Federer's reign.

"This is a match where I'd like to have fun," said Nadal, who turns 19 today. "I think I might be able to win. At least that's what I'm going to go for."

The other men's semifinal features two first-time Grand Slam semifinalists: unseeded Argentine Mariano Puerta and No.12 Nikolay Davydenko of Russia.

Pierce dominated for the second round in a row, repeatedly drilling winners into the corners as she did to drub top-ranked Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinals.

"Once again, I am stunned by my own performance," said Pierce, seeded 21st. "I was very solid mentally from the start to the end."

Pierce improved to 5-0 in Grand Slam semifinals. At 30, she became the oldest women's Grand Slam finalist since Martina Navratilova was runner-up at Wimbledon in 1994 at age 37, and the oldest female Roland Garros finalist since Navratilova in 1987.

Born in Montreal and raised in the United States, Pierce trained in Paris for the past year and is a French citizen because her mother is a native. Pierce is the only Frenchwoman in the past 38 years to win Roland Garros, and she'll try for her first major since winning in Paris five years ago.

On a sunny, mild afternoon, with fans waving Belgian flags in the center-court stands, Henin-Hardenne needed just 68 minutes to beat the No. 7-seeded Petrova.

Henin-Hardenne occasionally grimaced from a back injury that has bothered her for weeks. But Petrova, who has never won a tournament, failed to mount enough of a challenge to test Henin-Hardenne's health or create any drama.

Henin-Hardenne, at 5-foot-6 nearly 5 inches shorter than Petrova, showed more variety in her shotmaking, including a backhand drop shot from three steps behind the baseline for a winner.

"She just felt at home on center court," Petrova said. "She was really going for her shots and keeping me in trouble all the time. She was keeping balls deep and close to the line. It was one of those days when everything works in your favor, and she had one of those days."

[Last modified June 3, 2005, 01:17:06]