Justine Henin's surprise retirement earlier this year has left the US Open without a defending women's champion. Most of the tennis world lamented the departure of the plucky little Belgian who at the time headed the WTA rankings. One suspects the Williams sisters were not among those shedding an emotional tear. A year ago, Henin proved that size does not matter as she overcame both Californian siblings on the way to winning the last of her seven grand slam titles. Serena was sent off in the quarter-finals and Venus in the semis before Henin defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova. Any thoughts the two Americans had of cleaning up in their back yard have been dispelled, however, by the draw and their own lack of activity on the tour.
Despite winning her fourth Wimbledon title two months ago, Venus is ranked only eighth in the world and was therefore vulnerable to play any of the top four in the last eight. That, to the chagrin of home supporters, turned out to be Serena, whom she beat in the final at the All England Club. Serena, who is rated fourth, would have preferred to delay a 17th meeting with her big sister - they are intriguingly tied at 8-8 - until the final, but instead one of them will probably have to fight for the right to meet the top seed Ana Ivanovic or Dinara Safina in the semi-finals.
That is assuming Ivanovic lasts that long. Since fulfilling her dream to win a first grand slam and capture the No 1 ranking in one fell swoop at Roland Garros in June, the popular Serbian has struggled under the burden of greater status. Safina has shown far better form since losing to Ivanovic in the French Open final. She won two tournaments in North America before taking the Olympic silver medal behind Elena Dementieva and looks the more likely prospective adversary for either of the Williams sisters.
wjohnson@thenational.ae
