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Defending champ Henin-Hardenne crashes out
Henin-Hardenne was upset by Nadia Petrova 6-3, 6-2, the earliest exit by the Open's top-seeded woman since Billie Jean King in 1973.
Justine Henin-Hardenne lost her US Open title and her No. 1 ranking on Monday night.
The defending champion was upset by Nadia Petrova 6-3, 6-2 in the fourth round, the earliest exit by the Open's top-seeded woman since Billie Jean King quit because of illness during her third-round match in 1973.
"I never felt good in this tournament. I never felt free in my head. I never felt 100 percent in the court," Henin-Hardenne said. "It wasn't my day. and she played well. She took the opportunities, and it was hard for me."
The Belgian was hurt by what's normally her most consistent and dangerous shot: her one-handed backhand. She missed three crucial shots on that side: on the final point of the first set, and on the last point of each of the two games when Petrova broke her in the second set, to 2-1 and to 5-2.
She finished with 30 unforced errors and just 14 winners - a mere three with her backhand. The 14th-seeded Petrova, meanwhile, played attacking tennis and won the point on 19 of 28 trips to the net. On the men's side, a big-name showdown is looming in the quarterfinals: Andre Agassi vs. Roger Federer. Agassi advanced on Monday with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory over pal and occasional practice partner Sargis Sargsian, who was on court for nearly 10 hours in his previous two outings. This one took 90 minutes.
