Serena Williams put on another dominant display to defend her Australian Open crown – her fifth in total – against Justine Henin of Belgium.
American Williams won the match 6-4 3-6 6-2.
Speaking after the match, Justine Henin said:
“I’d like to congratulate Serena, she is a real champion …
I’ll see you next year”
Serena Williams said:
“Congratulations to Justine … I definitely think she’s back”
Williams won by taking advantage of two out of three break points in the first set, while producing her best serves when down six out of seven break points Henin worked for herself.
Williams took the opening set by two breaks to one, before Henin rallied to take the second set with some risky on-the-line winners on Williams’ serve.
Williams became more focused in the third set and took the match by increasing her first serve percentages and returning strongly as the Belgian seemed to tire and her serve went off.
Williams served her best tennis up when it was most needed, the true mark of a Champion.
In This Story: Australian Open
The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually over the last fortnight of January at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open.
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Western Europe. It is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the southwest, and the North Sea to the northwest.
It covers an area of 30,689 km2 (11,849 sq mi) and has a population of more than 11.5 million, making it the 22nd most densely populated country in the world and the 6th most densely populated country in Europe, with a density of 376 per square kilometre (970/sq mi). The capital and largest city is Brussels; other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, Bruges, Namur, and Leuven.
Legally, Belgium is a sovereign state and a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. Its institutional organization is complex and is structured on both regional and linguistic grounds. It is divided into three highly autonomous regions: the Flemish Region in the north, Wallonia in the south, and the Brussels-Capital Region.
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player. She has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the most by any player in the Open Era, and the second-most of all time behind Margaret Court. The Women’s Tennis Association ranked her singles world No. 1 on eight separate occasions between 2002 and 2017.
