Henin: A diamond deep in the rough

Justine claims what could be last edition of Belgian event

FROM THE PROXIMUS DIAMOND GAMES IN ANTWERP – Justine Henin struggled much of the week to regain her dominant 2007 form, but in the end, she won what might be the last edition of the Proximus Diamond Games with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over unseeded Karin Knapp.

The Tier II tournament in Antwerp is scheduled to disappear from the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour calendar next year. But whereas tournament organiser Bob Verbeeck said a few months ago that the Proximus Diamond Games would continue as an exhibition event in 2009, he stated earlier in the week that he is still hoping the tournament can retain its place on the tour calendar.

Just like last year, when local hero Kim Clijsters played her final tournament in Belgium, ticket sales for the week were up to over 100,000. "This is why I still hope to organise a WTA tournament in the future," said Verbeeck. "We have got a loyal and pleased title sponsor that wants to keep supporting a successful project. In Dubai we will have a meeting with WTA boss Larry Scott. Our ambition remains to organize a WTA tournament with a minimum of three Top-10 players (a lower grade A-level that is essentially a Tier II) of course including Justine Henin, and six to seven players from the Top 20. Personally I am not that much in favor of an exhibition, which focuses more on the show element." Verbeeck said he expects to know more about the future of the event near the end of March.

Meanwhile, Henin said she's willing to support Verbeeck's cause. "The WTA is certainly open to comments from the players. I would love to help and contribute to the further existence of this wonderful tournament."

Henin had an easy road to the final as No. 48 Knapp was the highest-ranked player she had to face all week in order to win her home tournament. Henin posted her most comfortable victory of the event in the final against the Italian.

"This will always be a wonderful memory," said the Belgian.

FIRST SET GOES QUICKLY

Henin faced a break point in her opening service game, but after she saved it with an overhead she raced out to a 5-2 lead. She failed to serve it out, but broke Knapp in the next game to seal the opening set.

Henin clearly tried to be aggressive from the get-go, as she was moving forward a lot. But she was charging the net too much, coming in on balls that didn't warrant an approach. It resulted in some easy passes for Knapp and showed that Henin still wasn't playing with a lot of confidence.

The second set offered a big contrast to the first. Henin rarely showed her face around the net again, as she switched back to the defensive mode she had been playing in for most of the week. Knapp proved she can hit winners off both wings, but the 20-year-old was too erratic to stand a chance against the No. 1.

Knapp lost her serve at 2-3, when she didn't get down well enough for a sitter backhand that she put in the middle of the net. It turned out to be the only break of the set, as Henin closed out the match at 6-3 with a service winner down the tee. "I was having a hard time with my tennis this week, but it turned out right in the end," she said.

As far as the Belgian fans are concerned, their tournament was a great success, as the only thing they cared about was to see Henin lift the trophy. But for a neutral fan, this has been one of the most mediocre Tier II events of recent history as Henin didn't have to face a single Top 40 player all week, and with two qualifiers and a lucky loser among the quarterfinalists, there basically wasn't any high-profile match all week.

"I don't like it that much," said Henin about having to play all these little-known players. "I prefer to have played the players I know here this week, because you never know what you can expect [against the lower ranked players]." En route to the final, Henin beat Tsvetana Pironkova (No. 76), Alisa Kleybanova (No. 106) and Timea Bacsinszky (No. 94).