She wasn't supposed to win in Melbourne. Order was supposed to be restored in Miami where she found herself in a part of the draw facing her sister and then each of the women she beat on the way to winning in Australia. Maria Sharapova, Nicole Vaidisova and Shahar Pe'er all fell by the wayside leaving Justine Henin to stand across the net from her. Their last meeting had ended in defeat for Serena due in part to what some called gamesmanship on the part of Justine and resulted in a bitter handshake at the net between the two women. To her credit Serena never said the hand incident caused her to lose.
Justine, the current WTA number one, a deserved ranking based on how well she's played looked to have Serena's number as she raced to a 6-0 win of the first set and what looked to be an insurmountable lead in the second set. It was openly questioned why Serena didn't call on her father between the first and second sets but she wanted to win the old fashioned way and get herself out of the mess she was in.
And get herself out of it she did. It wasn't beautiful tennis but it was gritty and hard fought. In the end both women showed why they are champions. Serena had a mental lapse in the third set but in the end she prevailed. Justine did not roll over and play dead. She gave it her all up until the last point.
The ritual greeting at the net was warm and respectful. There was sincere conversation between them. As someone noted recently none of us are virgins, life has screwed us all. The hand incident is over. Justine has worked hard to overcome her "no mas" action in the 2006 Australian Open Final. Both women are letting their tennis do their talking and in the end that is the best thing the WTA can hope for.
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