Justine Henin-Hardenne’s latest ailment failed to slow her down on Thursday at the French Open.
The tournament favourite and 2003 champion required treatment for a back injury that bothered her serve, yet she still advanced to the third round by beating Virginia Ruano Pascual 6-1, 6-4.
After taking a 5-0 lead, Henin-Hardenne requested treatment during the changeover and grimaced as she stretched her back with help from a trainer. Henin-Hardenne said the previously undisclosed injury involves a nerve, dates back at least six weeks and isn’t serious.
”I’m going to be fine for the next few days,” she said. ”I just wanted to be sure it wasn’t going to be more serious. That’s why I asked for the trainer. It was bothering me only on my serve.”
Henin-Hardenne hit eight double faults and has 17 in two matches. She made only 45% of her first serves and was broken three times in the second set.
The injury is the latest in a series of ailments for Henin-Hardenne, who returned in March from a seven-month layoff due to a blood virus and knee injury. Despite rust, back pain and concerns about her stamina, she’s 22-1 since returning and has won 19 consecutive matches, all on clay.
Two tournaments this month came despite the back injury.
”It’s a pain that I know,” she said. ”In the evening, it hurts when I have to sit down or drive. This is something I’ve had to live with for a few weeks. At some point I’ll have to take a few days’ rest.”
Henin-Hardenne’s lone loss this year was at Key Biscayne to Maria Sharapova, a potential opponent in the quarterfinals.
Sharapova, seeded second, committed just 13 unforced errors and beat 18-year-old Frenchwoman Aravane Rezai 6-3, 6-2.
Seventh-seeded Nadia Petrova also reached the third round, beating Severine Beltrame of France, 6-1, 6-3. Number 24 Magdalena Maleeva lost to Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-3, 6-4.
In men’s play, 2004 runner-up Guillermo Coria, seeded eighth, won when 18-year-old qualifier Novak Djokovic retired with respiratory trouble trailing 4-6, 6-2, 3-2. Djokovic said a sinus problem has bothered him for about a year.
”Every time I get to clay and some long points, it gets worse and worse,” he said. ”I just couldn’t breathe after long points.”
Also retiring was American Vince Spadea, who called it quits with a left thigh injury trailing number 21 Tommy Haas 6-4, 6-3. Number nine Guillermo Canas beat Albert Montanes 6-1, 6-3, 6-4.
On the warmest day of the tournament, with sunshine and temperatures of about 26 degrees Celsius, Henin-Hardenne played the first match on Court Suzanne Lenglen and raced to a quick lead. One game she won despite three double faults and a blown overhead.
Seeded 10th, Henin-Hardenne volleyed well and showed no sign of back trouble during baseline rallies, and she benefited from Ruano Pascual’s erratic groundstrokes. The Belgian saved some of her best serving for the final game, closing out the victory at love.
”I’m sure I’m not at my best level right now,” said Henin-Hardenne, the winner of three major titles. ”It’s not normal for me to be at my best level at the beginning of a grand slam. But I’ve won a lot of matches in the last couple of weeks, and that gives me a lot of confidence.”
On the men’s side, Richard Gasquet of France will play fellow 18-year-old Rafael Nadal of Spain on Friday in the most anticipated match of the first week.
If the home-court advantage makes the difference, Gasquet will win. If experience makes the difference, Nadal will win — he’s 15 days older than Gasquet.
”It will be interesting to see who is going to win that,” said top-ranked Roger Federer, who might meet the winner in the semifinals. ”They’re up and coming, and now they face each other.”
Nadal is the left-hander from Mallorca with the toreador trousers, five tournament titles already this year and a 19-match winning streak. Playing at Roland Garros for the first time, he has been touted as Federer’s most formidable obstacle to the title. — Sapa-AP