Flashback to 2006 Wimbledon final

This week we continue our Flashback series on grass and take a look at the 2006 Wimbledon final between Amelie Mauresmo and Justine Henin.

2006 saw an interesting championship which culminated with a popular winner in Amelie Mauresmo; a player who had been through a lot in her young life at that point, overcoming a number of adversities to triumph on the big stage. Strangely enough, her opponent Justine Henin also experienced many adversities as well whilst ascending to the top. This is a reminder of what it takes for many of the world stars to get to the top of their profession.

In Amelie’s case, there was a lot of talk about her after coming out as gay as a 19 year old in January 1999. Amelie was not on speaking terms with her father but it was reported she was able to come to peace with him shortly before his death in 2004. Not to make things any easier, the press often gave Amelie a difficult time over a number of years for her physical appearance and perceived lack of fight in the big moments of important matches.

As for Justine, she lost her mother at a very young age and was not on speaking terms with her father for many years until they patched things up in 2007. She married Per Yves Hardenne in 2004 and would separate months after the 2006 Wimbledon final. Henin also had a rough time with the press; which mainly centred on allegations of cheating on and off the court. Therefore, as you can see, both players went through a lot in their young lives.

In regards to the tennis, Amelie was a sentimental favourite due to the fact she was semifinalist in 2004 and 2005, losing to Serena Williams and Lindsay Davenport respectively. In both semifinals, Amelie went down the same way, after being up a set and a break, in 2005 Amelie cut a very forlorn figure against Davenport, it was quite a sad sight. In 2006, Mauresmo reached the semifinal after seeing off Anastasia Myskina in the quarterfinal and would face another Russian Maria Sharapova.  You could argue Amelie didn’t have it easy, taking on very difficult opponents in the semifinals, all previous Wimbledon champions. And true to script, Amelie played great, going up a set and a break, looking good until it all started to go wrong again…Amelie lost the second set but this time was able to regroup and take the third set 6-2 to reach her first final.  In the other semifinal, Justine saw off Kim Clijsters in straight sets but Kim did break the Henin serve in each set.  In fact, it was never easy between Henin and Clijsters, the ultimate Belgian rivalry which was soured by comments by Kim’s late father Leo Clijsters regarding Henin.

Talking about souring of relations, at this stage Amelie and Justine were not quite on the best of terms either :-0  Amelie won her first major title at the Australian Open in January of 2006, and in the final it looked as Justine was about to receive quite a beating, losing the first set 6-1. However, shortly after, Justine retired and handed the match to Amelie complaining of stomach issues. It was a very strange ceremony and in the aftermath it was almost as if Amelie was to blame for winning the tournament based on retirements in both the semifinal and final. Needless to say Amelie wanted to prove a point against the same opponent on a different surface. I wonder whether the fact that the WTA tour was so strong during this period of history left all of the players on edge towards each other; they all wanted the same thing, to be the best. The final would have long term implications and historical importance for a number of reasons:

• This will be the last final in a major where a player (Mauresmo) deliberately chooses to serve and volley as a tactic throughout the entire match
• This is the last final to date between two players with a single handed backhand
•  Henin was bidding to hold all four major titles, joining a very elite list of players
•  Mauresmo was bidding to become the first French woman to win Wimbledon since Suzanne Lenglen in 1925.

The match started off with Mauresmo getting broken in the very first game, as Henin applied the pressure early. As I mentioned before, Mauresmo served and volleyed on most of her first serves with speeds between 168 and 186 kph (105 to 116mph), therefore Henin also decided to get to the net as often as possible, tactics no doubt discussed beforehand with her coach Carlos Rodriguez; throwing in the occasional serve volley herself whilst hitting the backhand return and charging the net. As old school a tennis match you could possibly get in 2006 played by two women. Henin broke serve with a brilliant net exchange, the sort of exchange you get in a doubles match and then held serve comfortably to take early charge. As the first set developed, Mauresmo seemed to clear the nerves and got into the match but lost her serve again to go 5-2 down, allowing Henin to serve out the set to love with an ace and looked in good shape to join the greats of the game.

Mauresmo knew she needed to respond and started the second set on a good footing with a love service game, letting out a scream in the process, trying to rid herself of tension. Perhaps it worked because Henin herself seemed to be full of tension and was instantly broken as Mauresmo picked up on this and started rushing Henin at the net with great chip and charge returns and volleys into the open space.  There were some tremendous rallies in the second set with incredible net play by both, Mauresmo in particular. However, this good feeling didn’t last long with Mauresmo losing her lead at 4-2 to allow Henin back into the set. You would have expected Henin to put the pressure on but Mauresmo responded immediately with a great running forehand passing shot down the line, off a very good Henin serve and volley play. Mauresmo soon got to 15-40 and despite Henin saving the first break point with a strong serve, Henin was broken on the second break point, leaving Mauresmo to serve out the second set.

Now of course, no one said it was going to be easy. Mauresmo had to save three break points before finally getting to set point, which she scored with an ace to take the second set 6-3. Each player won their set with ace to the backhand on the ad court. The ace summed up the second set nicely, a set with great tennis, crazy errors and a lot of tension but ended in the right manner. There was a caveat, it seemed quite windy and as we know in stadiums, the wind can swirl around the bowl so that was also a factor in the errors count.

Henin was now serving first in the final set, which usually is a big advantage and she started off well, but by now Mauresmo was looking stronger and stronger and broke Henin early in the third game of the final set. That can often spell danger in a big final to break so early but on this occasion Mauresmo was really focused on holding with great serve and volley play, which was a joy to watch. In response, Henin was now also serving and volleying on almost every point on her games, even on some second serves. It was quite a sight to see two players serve volleying in a big final in the new millennium.  Henin did her side of the bargain; holding on to get to 5-4, inviting Mauresmo to serve it out. We all wondered how Mauresmo would come out to serve for the match, we needn’t have been concerned. Mauresmo hit two aces in the deuce court wide to Henin’s forehand, and then at 30 all played a great volley into the corner to set up match point. Mauresmo missed the first serve but the second serve went in barely and Henin obliged her by missing her forehand into the net after a short sharp rally. Mauresmo sank to her knees, realising that she was finally Wimbledon champion at the age of 27 after so many near moments in the previous years.  Mauresmo’s victory speech with Sue Barker became famous for her tongue in cheek remark “I don’t want anyone to talk about my nerves anymore!”.

How did Mauresmo turn the match in her favour?  According to analyst Jason Goodall, he charted that in the first set Mauresmo served at 65% first serves in but served too many to Henin’s backhand, which Henin used to drive the return and attack the net, putting the pressure on Mauresmo’s second serve. However, in the second set Mauresmo’s first serve percentage was under 50%, but she switched the attack to Henin’s forehand more and found great success, Henin making many more errors on that side which allowed Mauresmo to serve more aces in the deuce court as well. It is interesting that Mauresmo was able to switch strategy in the middle of the match and raise her confidence level as a result, with Henin’s going downwards at the same time.  In the third set with her confidence rising, Mauresmo’s first serve percentage reached as high as 84% therefore she was definitely on top for the decider.  As an aside, it also worth noting Mauresmo is one of the few players to win junior Wimbledon (1996) and then the main draw event in 2006.

2006 was a great year for both players.  Mauresmo won two major titles whilst Henin played in all major finals in the same year, the first player since Martina Hingis in 1997.  Also, both players battled it out for the year end number 1 ranking, with Henin securing number 1 at the WTA championships in Madrid. In the final, Henin defeated Mauresmo in two tight sets to bookend their rivalry in 2006 by playing each other in the first and last big finals of that year.   

Looking back at the Wimbledon final, it is a little unfortunate there are no longer any all court players with a one hand backhand getting to the top of women’s tennis; two players who were constantly changing strategies throughout the match, trying to find different ways to win.