Henin wins Qatar Open to complete Gulf double

Henin wins Qatar Open to complete Gulf double
Mar 8, 2007 20:08
HELPSLAYER Points: Join Date: Mar 6, 2007 Status: offline	Top-seeded Justine Henin of Belgium won the Qatar Open with a 6-4, 6- 2 win Saturday over Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova. The second-ranked Henin, who won the Dubai Open last week, broke a sequence of Russian domination in Qatar dating back to 2003 when Anastasia Myskina won the title. Myskina repeated her performance in 2004, while Maria Sharapova and Nadia Petrova took the title in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Henin showed no fatigue despite playing three sets against Patty Schnyder on Thursday and Jelena Jankovic on Friday. "I like to win titles I have not won before," Henin said. "I like the Gulf. Dubai is like a home." Kuznetsova lost to Henin for the second time in two weeks, and for the 14th time in 15 clashes. "Maybe I have a mental block when I play Justine," said Kuznetsova, who has lost 14 of their 15 clashes. "She is just too tough mentally and I need to learn this from her." Kuznetsova's only win against Henin came in the semifinals of the 2004 Qatar Open. The Russian took a 4-2 lead in the first set with a break in the sixth game, but Henin broke back after Kuznetsova double-faulted twice. Henin held serve to tie, broke Kuznetsova again to take the lead, then served out the set. "It was very windy today and Svetlana started pretty well. I had to change tactics and went to the net much more. I became pretty aggressive," Henin said. "I played very well in the important points. That's my biggest quality." Afterward, she said she felt proud having come back so successfully after her divorce this year which forced her to miss the Australian Open. "I never lost my tennis," she said. "All I needed was to get my confidence back and I am proud of the way I did that. I needed to move forward and know who I am." It was Henin's 31st career title.

Mar 8, 2007 20:08

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Top-seeded Justine Henin of Belgium won the Qatar Open with a 6-4, 6- 2 win Saturday over Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova.

The second-ranked Henin, who won the Dubai Open last week, broke a sequence of Russian domination in Qatar dating back to 2003 when Anastasia Myskina won the title. Myskina repeated her performance in 2004, while Maria Sharapova and Nadia Petrova took the title in 2005 and 2006, respectively.

Henin showed no fatigue despite playing three sets against Patty Schnyder on Thursday and Jelena Jankovic on Friday.

"I like to win titles I have not won before," Henin said. "I like the Gulf. Dubai is like a home."

Kuznetsova lost to Henin for the second time in two weeks, and for the 14th time in 15 clashes.

"Maybe I have a mental block when I play Justine," said Kuznetsova, who has lost 14 of their 15 clashes. "She is just too tough mentally and I need to learn this from her."

Kuznetsova's only win against Henin came in the semifinals of the 2004 Qatar Open.

The Russian took a 4-2 lead in the first set with a break in the sixth game, but Henin broke back after Kuznetsova double-faulted twice. Henin held serve to tie, broke Kuznetsova again to take the lead, then served out the set.

"It was very windy today and Svetlana started pretty well. I had to change tactics and went to the net much more. I became pretty aggressive," Henin said. "I played very well in the important points. That's my biggest quality."

Afterward, she said she felt proud having come back so successfully after her divorce this year which forced her to miss the Australian Open.

"I never lost my tennis," she said. "All I needed was to get my confidence back and I am proud of the way I did that. I needed to move forward and know who I am."

It was Henin's 31st career title.

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