BACKSPIN SPECIAL: The Best of Henin

Justine Henin has been a big part of Backspin over the past nearly six years, so as a final tribute I thought I'd post a collection of links to past La Petit Taureau-centered columns as a sort of "Best of Henin" Special Edition.



(First, the oldest Backspin mention I could find, excerpted here because it appears that the original Tennisrulz.com link no longer exists.)

=2002=

TENNISRULZ.com WTA REPORT
WEEK 43; October 28, 2002

WAFFLES, ANYONE?

It was a Belgian Waffle Sunday as, for the first time ever, both Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters emerged with two different singles titles in the same week. Who says there are no WTA stories without the Sisters?

2002 hasn't exactly been kind to the Waffles, with injuries causing several setbacks for both. But as most of the rest of the Top 10 limps toward this season's finish line, Henin and Clijsters are surging toward dual Top 5 rankings. Henin, in fact, has already risen to a career-high #4, and Clijsters is right behind her at #6.

Hmmm, could L.A. be shaping up to be a battle of the Williams family vs. the Belgians? Could we be so lucky to see that story begin to develop a week from now? Stay tuned.

WEEK 43 CHAMPIONS
LINZ (TIER II)
S: Justine Henin d. Alexandra Stevenson
D: Dokic/Petrova d. Fujiwara/Sugiyama
LUXEMBOURG (TIER III)
S: Kim Clijsters d. Maggie Maleeva
D: Clijsters/Husarova d. Hrdlickova/Rittner

PLAYER AWARDS
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: The Waffles
...In the midst of their dual rises up the WTA rankings, Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin have never both won singles titles on the same weekend. That's now changed. But Clijsters gets the slight edge here since she took the Luxembourg doubles, as well.

MATCHES
1.Season-lifting Finals -
...The Belgians are rising again. After rollercoaster seasons for both, Henin and Clijsters are hitting their strides as the season winds down. Henin's win over Stevenson in Linz shot her to a career-best #4; while Clijsters' working over of Maleeva to defend her 2001 Luxembourg title leaves her a potential Championships Final run away from possibly joining her fellow Waffle in the season-ending Top 5.



And now the Backspin history of Henin... in link form:

=2003=
May 12 - To Choke or Not to Choke
June 9 - 2003 Clay Court Awards (RG '03)
August 18 - Signs, Eh?
September 8 - Queen Justine (US '03)
October 20 - Le Petit Taureau is a Queen

=2004=
February 2 - Taureau in a Clijsters Shop
August 23 - Athena Would Be Proud (Olympics '04)

=2005=
April 18 - Le Petit Taureau est de Retour
June 6 - Long Live the Queen (RG '05)

=2006=
January 28 - Amelie Clicks Her Heels (Oz '06)
January 29 - Dorothy Tour Awards '07 (post-Oz controversy)
February 27 - Justine's Port of Call
June 10 - Restoring Order (RG '06)
June 24 - Welcome Back, Petit Taureau
November 7 - Intriguing Answers: A Tale of Two Champions
November 13 - A Final Poke in the Eye of Convention (YEC '06)

=2007=
June 9 - The Pursuit of Happiness (RG '07)
September 8 - Eternal Sunshine of the Henin Mind (US '07)
October 8 - Last Belgian Standing
October 22 - The Reign of Queen Justine, Pt.IX
November 13 - 2007 Backspin Awards
November 21 - "What a way to end a season." (YEC '07)

=2008=
May 15 - Into the Good Night



ALSO OF NOTE: The Best of Clijsters

All for now.