Lindsay Davenport got off to a great start against Justine Henin-Hardenne tonight, but then the Little Backhand That Could chugged back into contention and ultimately sent Davenport packing. It was the sixth win in a row in the rivalry for Henin-Hardenne.
Maybe I’m missing something here, but it’s amazing how often Lindsay goes deep into a tournament and then—bingo—the wheels fall off. It’s almost like a part of her wants to turn to you and say:
Granted, the Wimbledon final last year was an exception; Lindsay played her heart out, only to see Venus Williams snatch the trophy out of her hands. But in general, I get this sense that no matter how fit Lindsay is, no matter how well her strokes are firing, she just can’t sustain—nevermind ramp up—the focus required to win at big events in the late stages.
This is a subtle problem, and there’s just one explanation for it: She’s got too many miles on the clock. She no longer has that burning appetite of the rising or unsatisfied champion. That’s one thing you can’t fool yourself about. Her mind is into it, but her heart is not. When was the last time you looked at Lindsay and felt, “Man, she really wants to win this thing . . .”
Of course, Lindsay is happily married now; she’s mature, and she has tennis in perspective. That’s the kiss of death, even though she appears to enjoy what she’s doing—hey, it’s either this, or volunteer two days a week down at the local ASPCA, line up lunch dates for the other days, and try that interesting meatloaf recipe out on hubby Jon. There's plenty of time for that—why not take a few more turns on the world stage—smell the roses? As Lindsay said in her presser:
Henin-Hardenne is a different breed of cat. You could see tonight how badly she wants not only to play, but to win. From the way she tells it, just about every match represents some kind of transcendent moment of profound existential significance. Meatloaf? Forget about it. This is a desperate housewife of a different kind—in fact, her husband, Pierre-Yves, isn’t even here in Melbourne. According to the Belgian press corps, YP is on a skiing holiday.
I guess the guy needed a break—Justine’s been hanging around the house a lot (she played just one tournament last year after the U.S. Open). He’ll have plenty of time to be supportive at other majors!