Henin vs Bartoli as it happened

July 7, 2007 at 11:00 am · Filed under bartoli, gamewatch, justine henin, wimbledon

Wimbledon semi-final result: J HENIN (Bel) 1 v M BARTOLI (Fra) 18

6-1 5-7 1-6

THIRD SET

Henin 6-1 5-7 1-6 Bartoli
And that’s it! Henin throws in the towel with a couple of rubbish returns and Bartoli sinks to her knees in absolutely stunned delight after holding to love. The Frenchwoman does her best to look calm and collected but the wobbly chin and wobbly knees betray her. Justine Henin scoots off Centre Court in a hurry, Bartoli stays to soak up the standing ovation having decked herself out in her player’s badge – an indication of just how big a shock it is for this relative unknown to dump out the favourite in the semi-final. To quote David Coleman….eeerrrr, quite remarkable!

Henin 6-1 5-7 1-5 Bartoli
Henin interrupts the losing streak and it’s the first sign of nerves and tension from Bartoli as she fires into the net a couple of times on her way to a loss to 15. She has four other games to get it right, though…

“Either way, whether Bartoli wins of Henin makes a remarkable comeback, this will go down as an unbelievable match.”
BBC Sport pundit Tracy Austin

Henin 6-1 5-7 0-5 Bartoli
Make that seven games on the trot! Henin gets her backhand ticking again with a couple of passing winners to draw back to 30-40, but Bartoli keeps up the pressure and holds to put her on the brink of the upset of the year. Henin looks bemused, but then so does Bartoli to be fair.

Henin 6-1 5-7 0-4 Bartoli
And it’s six games in a row for Bartoli and a double break in the decider! Henin crumbles in the face of yet more unbelievable accuracy and power from the Frenchwoman and sends a forehand long to lose the game to 15.

“You talk about players being ‘in the zone’, well Bartoli is a fully paid up member right now.”
BBC Sport pundit Tracy Austin

Henin 6-1 5-7 0-3 Bartoli
The Bartoli fist-pump, which is far more threatening than Tim Henman’s girly swish, is out in full force with the Frenchwoman producing some quite remarkable tennis on Centre Court. It may be her first Grand Slam semi, but she is playing like a seasoned pro against a stunned Henin out there. Even when Henin forces two break points Bartoli plums the depths of her tenacity and saves the longest game of the match with some stunning resistance. Is there a way back for Henin? I’ll be honest, those of us hoping for some semblance of a Friday night out wouldn’t mind if there wasn’t…

Henin 6-1 5-7 0-2 Bartoli
Unbelievably, Henin looks like she is suffering from a crisis in confidence at the moment. Bartoli’s all-or-nothing approach is paying dividends and she brings up yet another break point with a tenacious volleyed winner at the net. It’s all the opening she needs as she slams a brilliant backhand down the line and Centre Court is looking on in disbelief…

“Are we witnessing what would be one almighty shock developing here? I’ve seen Bartoli play many times before, but never at such a high level as this.”
BBC Sport pundit Tracy Austin

Henin 6-1 5-7 0-1 Bartoli
Bartoli is certainly not going to do this the easy way if she wins through to the final, as she is forced to save two break points for the second service game running. She does just that, though, and a couple of Henin errors hand the game to her on a plate after that.

SECOND SET

Henin 6-1 5-7 Bartoli
Unbelievable from Bartoli, who takes this semi-final into a decider with some brilliant groundstrokes on her way to a love game on the Henin serve. Henin’s own game crumbled there and she will have to get back on track fast if she is to keep her bid for a first Wimbledon title on track here.

Henin 6-1 5-6 Bartoli
Sacre bleu! Henin secures two break points out of nowhere but Bartoli focuses and forces the errors that bring her back to deuce. A massive serve out wide brings the Frenchwoman game point and Henin can do nothing about a low bounce on the next point. We could be looking at a tie-break here and who knows what after that…

“Huge credit has to go to Bartoli. There were several moments in this set that she could have crumbled and disappeared, but she has dug deep and is treating the crowd to some fantastic strokeplay.”
BBC Sport pundit Tracy Austin

Henin 6-1 5-5 Bartoli
Bartoli moves to 30-0 up with a couple of fantastic forehand winners down the line, but Henin somehow battles back to game point with blistering efforts of her own. Bartoli forces the error again to move to deuce but Henin digs deep into her see out the game and keep herself in the set.

Henin 6-1 4-5 Bartoli
Fabulous work again from Bartoli, who holds to 15 with some brilliant winners. She has Henin dashing all over the court and seals it when the Belgian can only find the net with a forehand.

Henin 6-1 4-4 Bartoli
She’s nothing if not a fighter, Bartoli! All of a sudden, Henin’s accuracy abandons her and a couple of unforced errors hand Bartoli break point. The Frenchwoman clinches it with a fabulous crosscourt backhand winner and we’re back on serve again.

Henin 6-1 4-3 Bartoli
Oh dear – just when you thought Bartoli was making a match of this, Henin finds her range brilliantly on her passing strokes and breaks to 15. The Belgian’s coach, Carlos Rodrigues, has his kids in the crowd, but they are less concerned with cheering on Henin than they are watching a film on a portable DVD player. “Anything that keeps them quiet” says the rather unsympathetic Tracy Austin.

“Awesome strokeplay from Henin there, who has gone up a gear just when she needed to.”
BBC Sport pundit Tracy Austin

Henin 6-1 3-3 Bartoli
Rather cruelly, picture desk Jez has suggested Henin resembles the Wicked Wicket of the West from the Wizard of Oz film (I’m thinking more that mouse thing in American Tail), but the Belgian is hardly casting a spell (geddit?) over Bartoli at the moment. Whereas she had Bartoli struggling to make any returns earlier in the match, Henin is now having to battle just to hang onto her own serve. She is helped by a beautiful drop-shot at the net and holds to 30 with a backhand winner, but it’s certainly not all one-way traffic anymore.

Henin 6-1 2-3 Bartoli
A topsy-turvy game sees Bartoli stroll to 40-15 up with more punishing passing strokes, but Henin greets a backhand down the line of her own with “ooh that’s a good thing ya”, and Bartoli sends a forehand long to bring it back to deuce. Two crunching Henin forehands see her break back and you wonder if the pendulum has swung back towards the Belgian.

Henin 6-1 1-3 Bartoli
Well well well, more signs that the Bartoli groundstrokes are causing Henin problems as the Frenchwoman drills her way to 40-15 up on her opponent’s serve again. Frustratingly she sends a couple of returns into the net to see them slip away but she earns another break point with a bludgeoned backhand and Henin sends a return long to hand the Frenchwoman the game.

“Bartoli is looking so much better than she did 10 minutes ago, she’s barely recognisable.”
BBC Sport pundit Tracy Austin

Henin 6-1 1-2 Bartoli
And the 18th seed backs up her first break with an impressive hold to 15, finding a succession of impressive groundstrokes that bring her old man in the crowd to his feet.

Henin 6-1 1-1 Bartoli
Bartoli’s two-handed approach on both sides – apparently pressed upon her by her doctor-come-tennis coach father – is receiving a bit of a lambasting from Barry Davies and Tracy Austin in the comm box but, when she gets it right, it’s a formidable weapon. Twice she has Henin scrambling unsuccessfully across the court and she brings up two break points with another stinging backhand. Henin saves both, the second with a sublime drop-shot volley, but Bartoli wins through following another brilliant exchange at the net. Game on?

“The crowd are certainly appreciating the effort being put in by Bartoli. They’re rooting for the Frenchwoman to make a contest of this.”
BBC Sport pundit Tracy Austin

Henin 6-1 1-0 Bartoli
You can almost hear the sympathetic cringes written across the crowd’s faces as Bartoli mixes the sublime with the ridiculous. The Frenchwoman comes out best from an exchange at the net, but can only watch as a couple of short passing efforts are whipped back past her feet by the number one seed. Another brilliant backhand pass down the line seals the game for Henin and it’s another early break.

FIRST SET

Henin 6-1 Bartoli
Easy does it for Henin, who takes the set with a love service game and, even though she looks likely to miss Shaun the Sheep – which will undoubtedly devastate her – she should be done before the News at 1800. So just in time to watch herself hit the headlines, then. Nice.

Henin 5-1 Bartoli
I can’t profess to have seen Bartoli in action a huge amount, but she is a regular old jitterbug out on Centre Court. I can’t tell if it’s excitement, the nerves or she has a set of earpieces tuned into Dance FM, but it’s doing her no favours as she lets a 30-0 lead slip to hand Henin another break. Two magnificent backhand winners suggest Henin is finding her rhythm.

“Henin is looking even more relaxed now. You get the feeling that Bartoli needed to get her nose ahead as early as possible in this match to stand any chance, but now Henin might just steam-roller her.”
BBC Sport pundit Tracy Austin

Henin 4-1 Bartoli
A couple of superb passing strokes put Henin 30-0 up, but Bartoli finds a forehand return winner of her own to reduce her deficit before an Henin double fault makes it 30-30. Henin holds her nerve, and her serve, in the swirling wind though to keep her nose in front.

Henin 3-1 Bartoli
None of this sports drink and water nonsense for Henin in the mid-game break, the Belgian chomping into a slab of chewy sweet and supping on a chocolate drink – this is sports professionalism Rab C Nesbit style. It doesn’t do the trick this time around, though, as Bartoli gets her serve going nicely in holding to 30 – crucial hold that, you feel.

Henin 3-0 Bartoli
Bartoli finds a nice backhand down the line on the run to help settle her nerves, but Henin goes on to hold to 30, sealing the game with a service winner.

Henin 2-0 Bartoli
With the wind really kicking up, Bartoli’s hair flailing in the wind like a cheap shampoo advert, you really feel for the players trying to keep control on their serve. And it’s a tough old start for Bartoli, who sends a couple of groundstrokes long either side of a Henin forehand winner, and the Belgian breaks to love.

“Just get the feeling that the longer these points go on, the more likely it is that Henin will win them. She’s a much better mover, a much better athlete and she’s got all the shots.”
BBC Sport pundit Tracy Austin

Henin 1-0 Bartoli
After the shortest warm-up ever, Henin kicks things off with a typically ruthless opening service game, holding to 15 without Bartoli managing to get much of a racket on any of her serves.

1709 BST: Justine Henin, sporting the smallest ears in showbiz, looks so relaxed coming out onto court she could just have stepped out of the Jacuzzi and helped herself to a choc ice in SW19. Bartoli, on the other hand, looks like a wigwam and a teepee – two tents. Ba dom boom boom. Sorry… it’s been a long day…

1706 BST: Let’s have a look at the formbook – these two have met just twice before, with Henin coming through in straight sets on both occasions. Henin, who has dropped just one set all tournament, has played under five and a half hours of tennis to reach this stage – it is fair to day only Serena taxed her.

Bartoli, the daughter of a doctor (though not moi, Doctor Love, of course) has also enjoyed a reasonably safe passage through the quarter-finals, dropping just two sets. Still, if you are anything like the vast majority of the office here – picture desk Jez aside – you’ll be expecting Henin to finish off the Frenchwoman, possibly even in time for “Shaun the Sheep” on BBC2. Which, as if you didn’t all know, is on at 1735 BST.

1700 BST: What a day to have had tickets on Centre Court huh? Nadal-Berdych, Federer-Ferrero, Venus Williams-Ivanovic (spontaneous dribble) and now Justine Henin against Marion Bartoli. Witnessing that lot live in SW19 could surely have only been bettered than being stuck at work on a Friday and having to read some random’s drivel all day on the interwobble. For that, you are welcome people!

Comments