Nobody could ever doubt the tennis talents and prowess of Justine Henin. She has been the first to qualify for the the Masters in Madrid, she has won one Grand Slam so far this year (the French Open) and she has won the most trophies of any player in 2007, with five.

Despite all this, however, the US hard courts, and especially the US Open, have not always been so kind to the Belgian with her lone final victory coming controversially over Kim Clijsters in 2003. Many believe that had "hawkeye" been around then, the outcome may have been different. So with Justine's reluctance to play the US hard court tournaments will it affect her preparation for the US Open?

On paper, it would seem that Justine really is currently a notch above most of the other women. She has a dynamic game from the back court and at the net, a good serve, a great backhand and she can mix up her game to throw her opponents off theirs. But one thing history has always shown is that complacency leads to decline.

'I believe that her (Henin's) reluctance to play in the US and the ever decreasing gap between her and the other women, she will have a real fight on her hands'


While Justine is not playing matches, her rivals, Maria Sharapova, Jelena Jankovic and Venus Williams, are benefitting from getting match practice and getting used to the hard courts. Both Williams sisters have shown just how dangerous they can be in winning the other two Grand Slams this year (Australian Open and Wimbledon) and Sharapova too, is never far behind.

So in order to assess Justine's chances of doing well, we need to do three things. The first is to measure her performances at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, this should give us a good indication of her form right before the US Open.

The second: It would be handy to see the draw, but as this isn't possible, the next best think is to assess her competition.

Justine's arch rival, Sharapova, is doing very well and has marched into the semis of the Acura Classic in Carlsbad CA, so she is showing great form on the hard courts. Jelena Jankovic went out in the second round, so it's hard to see how she is going to pan out, but a few stand outs have already filtered through.

Elena Dementieva, a veteran on US hard courts and winner over Jankovic in LA last year has joined Sharapova in the semis, so she is one to watch, as is Anna Chakvetadze, who has quietly gone about winning Cincinnati and Stanford and is still alive in the Acura Classic also. Her next match is against Venus Williams so we should get a measure of both those girls in that match.

I think that all in all, Justine definitely has the fire power to win in New York, but I believe that her reluctance to play in the US and the ever decreasing gap between her and the other women, she will have a real fight on her hands. The hard courts make it harder for her crafty play to gain penetration and we all know the saying  -  practice makes perfect. At this level of tennis it is MATCH practice that makes perfect!