Despite the tough draw she was handed, Justine Henin came through the hustle and bustle of New York after pulling off rare victories over the Williams sisters, to land the US Open title. She stated: "This one is maybe the most important one". But how did the Belgian do it?

Henin faced hard-hittting Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final. After some sublime play and a dominating head-to-head, Justine came in as the favourite. Soon-to-be world No 2, Kuznetsova wasn't going to give up her chances of a second Grand Slam so easily. Henin blew Kuznetsova's first chance of a second Grand Slam at  Roland Garros in 2006.

Henin claimed the firsty set 6-1 in 33 minutes. Kuznetsova found her feet in the second set as she kept pace with Henin. But the Belgian took a vital 3-1 break and never looked back. Both held serve, until Henin wrapped up a 6-1 6-3 victory. Kuznetsova didn't think the scoreline reflected the match, but it was obvious that Henin was simply the better player.

'Kuznetsova didn't think the scoreline reflected the match, but it was obvious that Henin was simply the better player'


Henin took the victory in her stride. "Not a lot of people really thought i could do it. Not a lot of people thought i could win this Open with the draw i had, and i did it. It's amazing for me." Kuznetsova saw the sensational player that is Justine Henin, "Justine, she's No 1 athlete. She deserves it," she said.

Martina Hingis was the last and only person to beat both Williams sisters in a Grand Slam. Justine became the second person to do that, but went one step further as she took the title as well.

Serena Williams was the first to fall, as Justine took a 7-6(3) 6-1 win. It was the third consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final clash, with Henin prevailing each time. The younger Williams sister has been nowhere near her best as she is still coming off a thumb injury from Wimbledon. After Henin's first set win, she really took her game to her best as she raced through the second.

For most observers, the semi-final match-up against Venus was the final that mosy expected. Venus Williams dispatched the Serbian duo of Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic. The match lived up to its high expectations,  Justine claimiing victory 7-6(2) 6-4. At 5-5 in the first set, both players produced an amazing point that took the crowd to a whole new level of noise and excitement.

Venus had the trainer on at one point, and revealed after the match that an unknown illness has plagued her for a while. The American said she felt the same way in San Diego. "I got sick a little bit in the first week. I'm not sure what's happening right now. But I'm just looking forward to getting healthy and then I can play lots and lots of long points,"  she said. Justine was surprised about the illness, and said it would be better not to comment on it too much. Justine played a great match and truly achieved a superb win over Venus and Serena. She said: "I'm not scared anymore."

What happened to Sharapova? After finally capturing her first title of the year in San Diego, Maria Sharapova looked ready for a long and strong title defence. But she fell to Polish pride Agnieszka Radwanska. After two brilliant opening matches the third round loss leaves the Sharapova fan club in doubt and mystery. She has joined the practice squad in Russia for the Fed Cup final.

Anna Chakvetadze reached the semi-fianal before losing to Kuznetsova. Shahar Peer and Agnes Szavay reached the quarter-finals, as they took full advantage of the wide open second half of the draw. But Justine Henin was the picture of true brilliance as she claimed Grand Slam title No 7 and a bit of history with it.

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