Six and a half years ago, Serena Williams played her last of 14 matches against Justine Henin before the Belgian retired from the sport for a second and final time in 2011.
On Monday, Henin will once again be on the opposite side of Williams, as the coach of the world No1’s opponent Elina Svitolina in the French Open fourth round.
Williams and Henin have a storied history that includes an infamous “hand incident” during a three-set semi-final battle in 2003 in which the American accused Henin of poor sportsmanship.
Henin had put her hand up, to indicate she was not ready, while Williams was serving, with the ball landing in the net. Williams asked the umpire to replay the first serve because it was Henin’s hand signal that distracted her but the umpire said he did not see it and the Belgian, who won the match, refused to come clean.
In 2011, Henin discussed the incident with Belgian press, implying she regretted her actions after which Williams took to Twitter saying: “Question, I keep hearing about an admittance to someone cheating me and lying about it after at the French open? Did she confess finally?’’
It’s been over a decade since ‘Hand-gate’ and Williams surely must have moved on.
She faces Svitolina for the third time, having beaten the 21-year-old Ukrainian in all their previous meetings that included a three-setter at the Australian Open last year.
It’s the first time Williams will play her though with Henin in her corner.
“It really doesn’t matter,” Williams says when asked what it would be like facing Henin as an opposing coach.
“It’s just really about going out there and playing your best. That’s really all I can do right now. That’s all I look forward to doing.”
Svitolina won the Roland Garros junior title in 2010 and is coached full-time by Iain Hughes, with Henin coming in as a consultant last December, when the trio convened in Abu Dhabi for the Ukrainian’s preseason training block.
Seeded No18 in Paris, Svitolina is looking to reach a second consecutive quarter-final in Paris while Williams is trying to become the first woman to defend the Roland Garros since Henin kept the trophy from 2005 to 2007.
8th time's the charm. In their 8th career meeting it's Svitolina who finally scores a win over former champ Ivanovic pic.twitter.com/uPpssazazd
— Roland Garros (@rolandgarros) May 28, 2016
Svitolina, who got her first win in eight meetings with Ana Ivanovic in the third round on Saturday, is hoping to back up that victory with a huge upset over Williams.
“I think mentally I need to stay strong, stay positive, and no more junior mentality and junior tennis, you know,” said Svitolina, who is in the second week at a major for just the second time in her young career.
“It’s been a big thing for me now, and I need to change something, my preparation in my game, as well. “Of course I still make bad mistakes, but I cannot go further without doing mistakes.
“So we’ll see. It’s gonna be a tough match, but I’m going to try my best and I’m going to give 100 per cent in that day.”
Svitolina had a difficult clay season leading up to Paris which she says was affected by physical problems. She says she feels comfortable playing in the second week of a slam, but not everywhere.
“Maybe at Roland Garros, yes. But the other slams have been tougher for me. But we will work on it, and we will see what we can improve,” said Svitolina.
On how Henin can help her take on Williams, she added: “It’s different. Justine has a different game, and I have a different game. So it’s not like I have her in my team so I’m going to play exactly like her, because it’s impossible. We are completely different persons. So we try to find something in between that suits my game.”
Williams, who completed her rain-suspended doubles second round match alongside her sister Venus on Sunday morning before returning to the court for the third round later in the day which ended in defeat, is aware of what her young opponent is capable of.
“Obviously she’s a great player, and she knows how to play well. She knows how to just play on the big scenes, as well,” said the 21-grand slam winner after defeating Kristina Mladenovic in the third round Saturday.
“So it’s just another match for me. I think today, having this match is definitely going to be able to help me out going for it.”
