Fast, Fluid, Fabulous: Clijsters and Henin Show How Tennis Should Be Played

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: January 9, 2010

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What a way to get up at the crack of dawn on a snow-drenched, five-below-zero Saturday morning? With a plunge into the glimmering swimming pool that is tennis as played between Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin.

For it was not just the court, the surrounds, the arena, and the officials that suggested the blue of a chilly, clear, indoor pool. The tennis itself woke up the senses, invigorated the brain, sharpened the appetite—like dropping into fresh water on a hot day.

It was, of course, destined to be such a match and to produce such drama.

Two Belgian women who chose to retire while at the height of their powers.

Two champions playing one another for the first title of the year.

Two exponents of women’s tennis as it should be played, with fire, with pace, and with variety.

The first set burst into life with both women playing their own brand of tennis at its best.

Clijsters powered her double-fisted backhand down the line like a bullet. She swung it deep across the court like a laser. She whipped it with top-spin out wide at wicked angles. Nothing was impossible.

She did the same with her forehand: outrageously strong, deep, and through the court towards the back corners.

Safe overhead, quick to pick up drop-shots, she did her occasional signature splits in her urgency to reach a ball, but more often used light footwork to seek out and return the widest of balls.

Henin returned in kind. Stylistically so different, but delivering the same depth, pace, and accuracy.

Her power was generated by perfect timing and technique, and by feeding off the pace of her opponent to perfection.

Her crisp forehand drives demanded the most perfect response from her opponent. Her backhand, surely the most beautiful in tennis, wielded with her single right arm, whipped huge drives deep to the baseline.

Her sliced cross-court sweep...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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