Tennis/ French Open, Women's Singles, Final: In the press box at Court Philippe Chartrier someone asked where the turning point was in Justine Henin-Hardenne's breathless victory over Mary Pierce. The answer was Henin-Hardenne's saving of a second match point against Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova, three matches previously.
Clearing that barrier the 23-year-old Belgian took off at a gallop and did not slow down until Pierce's bubble burst 6-1, 6-1 and her dream tuned out to be just that, a dream.
"I just wanted to play a great match, just be loose, just be confident," said a weary Pierce afterwards.
We have to go back to Stefi Graff's double bagel (6-0, 6-0) annihilation of Natasha Zvereva in 1988 to have witnessed a more one-sided final, Henin-Hardenne defying the stereotype that just large, Amazonian women win tennis tournaments.
A chilling performance by the Belgian, her dominance was so completely unchallenged by Pierce that any sort of winner hit by the 30-year-old was immediately turned into the trumped up charge that she stood a chance by an unusually unsympathetic crowd. Pierce, sadly, was a decoration in the 10th seed's annexation of the second Grand Slam of the year and the fourth of her career.
With the Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, still in a muddle about where they want to concentrate their attentions, the game has opened to Henin-Hardenne, the only player to really successfully fill the void. The young Belgian has now equalled Venus's total of four major wins and remains two behind Serena's six titles. The Russians have come, but only so far this season and they have work to do if last year, where they won three out of four Grand Slams, is not to be seen as an aberration.
At Wimbledon, Henin-Hardenne should arrive as one of the top seeds, although, the seeding committee at the All England Club breaks ranks for the grass tournament. Former winner Lindsay Davenport and reigning champion Maria Sharapova will have caught their eye, while Serena Williams, if her ankle injury has mended, should also merit a high Wimbledon ranking.
"I'm going to pull out of Eastbourne and hope to be ready for Wimbledon," said Henin-Hardenne after the final. "I have at least 10 days off for my injury and I have to take this rest because my body is a little bit tired. I won't do the same mistakes as in the past. Never play more than three weeks in a row and take the rest when I need it."
Six months ago, the slight player was stricken with a virus that required her to sleep for most of the day, occasionally up to 18 hours. Her tournaments are now cautiously scheduled with Wimbledon likely to be the only summer commitment.
Pierce, however, will move onto the grass with a less steady nerve than she went into Saturday's final.
"It wasn't happening for me," she said. "It's always difficult when you lose a match and when you don't play well. But I know I'm on the right path."
Despite Pierce having tidier numbers for time on court and sets played through the two weeks, Henin-Hardenne was relentless. A first game in set one was all Pierce received in a brisk 24 minutes dusting down. She finally offered it to Henin-Hardenne with a double fault. The ninth game in the second set marked a second brief flourish as the match quickly imploded to a finish.
