Henin-Hardenne takes tuneup for Wimbledon
Eastbourne, England – French Open champion Justine Henin-Hardenne tuned up for Wimbledon by defeating Russia’s Anastasia Myskina 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (5) on Saturday in the Hastings Direct final.
“I saw very good things; I saw things I can improve,” the third-seeded Henin-Hardenne said. “But a Grand Slam is another kind of tournament.”
Myskina, seeded fifth, is optimistic about Wimbledon, which starts Monday.
“I think I can compete with any of the girls that are going to play next week,” she said. “But the first round is always tough, it doesn’t matter who you play.”
Henin-Hardenne won the two-hour final on her fifth match point.
With both players pounding groundstrokes, Henin- Hardenne gained the early edge and led 2-1. Myskina broke at love to make it 4-4 and again for the set when Henin-Hardenne made a backhand error.
In the second set, Myskina double-faulted to drop the first game. Henin-Hardenne began to attack more and a second break gave the Belgian a 3-0 lead. A further break at love closed the second set.
Myskina broke twice in the final set to take the lead, but Henin-Hardenne broke back immediately. The Russian fought off three match points before holding for 5-5, and Henin-Hardenne went on to capture the tiebreaker 7-5.
TENNIS
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Ancic, Krajicek take grass titles
Mario Ancic of Croatia won his second consecutive title at the Ordina Open in Den Bosch, Netherlands, defeating Jan Hernych of the Czech Republic 6-0, 5-7, 7-5 in this Wimbledon tuneup.
In the women’s final, Michaella Krajicek beat second- seeded Dinara Safina of Russia 6-3, 6-4 to become the first Dutch woman to capture her country’s only grass-court tournament. The match featured younger sisters of Grand Slam winners.
This was the first time in four meetings that Hernych took a set off Ancic. Last year in Den Bosch he lost to Ancic in the semifinal. The 26-year-old Hernych has yet to win an ATP title.
Ancic’s only two championships have come at this event.
What looked like a rout turned into a tense match, with Ancic making errors and Hernych picking up his game in the second set.
Ancic now awaits Wimbledon, where he will be seeded seventh when the tournament starts Monday. He opens against Spain’s Nicolas Almagro.
Krajicek won her third career title and second this year, the others coming in Hobart in January and last year in Tashkent. The 17-year-old player has won all three times she has been to a final.
Richard Gasquet beat Jonas Bjorkman 6-4, 6-3 in Nottingham, England, to win the Red Letter Days Open, the first player to successfully defend his title at this Wimbledon warm-up.
Gasquet faces top-ranked Roger Federer on Monday at Wimbledon.
WNBA
Smith mans the point, powers
Shock to 92-86 win over Mystics
Katie Smith had her best game as a point guard, finishing with 17 points and a career-high nine assists as the Detroit Shock beat the Washington Mystics 92-86 in Auburn Hills, Mich.
“I feel good about running this team,” said Smith, who took over the point after Elaine Powell went to Chicago in the expansion draft. “It was just a matter of getting enough repetition.”
Detroit (8-4) has won four straight overall and is 5-0 at home this season. The 92 points were its most since a 95-86 victory in Seattle on Aug. 17, 2003.
The Mystics (7-5) have lost two in a row.
“I wasn’t expecting that kind of score with their defense,” Washington coach Richie Adubato said.
Swin Cash had 19 points, and Deanna Nolan and Cheryl Ford finished with 18 apiece in a game in which 11 players, including every starter, scored in double figures.
FOOTNOTES
Russian Lysenko sets world mark with hammer throw of 253-11
Tatiana Lysenko of Russia set a world record in the women’s hammer throw with a toss of 253 feet, 11 inches at the Znamensky Brothers Memorial meet in Zhukovsky, Russia.
The Russian beat the mark of 253-6 set by Gulfiya Khanafeyeva at the Russian nationals in Tula on June 12.
West Virginia football coach Rich Rodriguez received a three-year contract extension that will pay him at least $1 million a year.
The contract, which runs through the 2012 season, includes an additional $100,000 per year in deferred compensation that Rodriguez can collect in December 2011 if he remains head coach of the Mountaineers.
Rodriguez led the Mountaineers to their third straight Big East title last season, and a surprising 38-35 victory over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.
West Virginia finished the season No. 5 in the country, tying the 1988 team for the teams’ best final ranking.
