The 2007 Women’s French Open champion will be decided on Saturday, and a familiar backhand is set to claim the title once again. Rafael Nadal may be the King of Clay, but there can be no doubt as to who is Queen – Justine Henin. Aiming for her third successive Roland Garros triumph and fourth of her career, the Belgian has already toppled two of the players who were expected to give her more problems than most.

Henin’s opponent in the final is a young Serbian talent. No, not Jelena Jankovic, but Ana Ivanovic. Jankovic was highly touted entering the tournament, with a good deal of justification. However, being drawn in Henin’s half was always going to make things difficult for her to reach the final. Being in the bottom half of the draw away from Henin, Serena Williams and Jankovic was of great benefit to Ivanovic, and she has capitalised on that to reach her first Grand Slam final.

Henin knows Court Philippe Chatrier like the back of her hand and looks set to defend the title yet again. The Belgian’s form has gradually improved and her most impressive displays have come against her toughest opponents. Both Serena Williams and Jankovic were expected to provide stern tests for the defending champion, but she dismissed both for the loss of just 11 games. At no stage of either encounter did Henin look likely to be stretched to a deciding set. What will worry Ivanovic is that, despite these results, there is still more to come from Henin.

"Rafael Nadal may be the King of Clay, but there can be no doubt as to who is Queen – Justine Henin."

Before Ivanovic can set her sights on winning the match, she must first claim a set off Henin (who has won 33 consecutive sets at Roland Garros dating back to her 2005 fourth-round encounter with Svetlana Kuznetsova). Henin’s victims thus far in Paris have included; Elena Vesnina, Tamira Paszek, Mara Santangello and Sybille Bammer, as well as the aforementioned Williams and Jankovic. 

Ivanovic is on a run of her own; still only 19, the young woman from Belgrade is often known as much for her looks and her smile as her tennis. She has the ability to hit countless winners, but with that comes the downside of racking up a stack of unforced errors. During the course of this tournament, she has largely been able to keep a rash of unforced errors out of her game and that was clearly evident during impressive wins over Kuznetsova and Maria Sharapova in her respective quarter and semi-finals.

Ivanovic won her first three rounds for the loss of only nine games, against Sofia Arvidsson, Sania Mirza and Ioana Raluca Olaru. The Serbian’s stiffest test came against fourth-round opponent Anabel Medina Garrigues. Despite hitting 44 unforced errors, she was able to survive, winning 6-3 in the third set.