Serena Williams and Justine Henin will renew their rivalry in style when they play each other for the Australian Open title on Saturday.
It will be the 14th meeting between the two, but their first in a Grand Slam final. Williams leads the head-to-head 7-6.
Surface appeared to play a large role in their early meetings, with Williams winning on faster courts but Henin taking nearly all the matches played on clay. The most memorable of those 2001-2003 contests was the French Open semifinal, which featured the infamous 'hand incident' when Henin did not tell the umpire she had called for pause during one of Williams' serves and Williams later accused the Belgian of "lying and fabricating."
Strangely, the two did not have the opportunity to play each other again till 2007, with Henin proceeding to gain the upper hand during a period that represented the peak of her pre-retirement career. But Williams dominated their last meeting at Miami in 2008, adding to a burnt-out Henin's decision to retire a couple of months later.
Head-to-head