December 15, 2008 
Dinara Safina's Serve - ProStrokes 2.0 Feature This Week
See sample of Dinara Safina's serve in ProStrokes 2.0 Slow-Motion in this week's edition.
Missing Justine Joel Drucker Since it happened back in May, the worst news of the 2008 tennis year is quite possibly forgettable. But not for me. Word of Justine Henin’s retirement was exceptionally disturbing. In one quick day, tennis had lost one of its greatest contemporary players. Certainly this holds true on the women’s side where, as I see it, Henin is the supreme female player since Steffi Graf. Yes, it’s true that Henin won seven Grand Slam titles compared to Serena Williams’ nine and Venus Williams’ seven. And the truth is that both these players pretty much had their way with the Belgian on any surface but clay (save for Henin’s wins over each at the ’07 U.S. Open). So if the quantitative tally will give the Williams sisters an edge, in raw tennis terms – as opposed to larger cultural significance – I still favor Henin.
What I admired and miss most about Henin was her supreme dedication. Billie Jean King once said, “We want to look back when we’re 50 years old and not have to ask, ‘What if?” Henin conducted herself in a way that showed she had little desire to leave anything on the table (that is, until she walked away from it all just like that). From the way she approached the practice court, to the way she prepared, hit, and competed, there was always a powerful sense of urgency around her – a sense that, yes, this tennis life is truly special and not something to be compartmentalized or subordinated. She cared. The work ethic was one way of overcoming a weakness Henin admitted to early in her career – nerves. If at times it was easy for her to take command, closing out matches was tough. And so, in the manner of such exemplary champions as Roy Emerson, Ivan Lendl, Jim Courier, and Martina Navratilova, she made herself exceptionally fit. The will to win is one thing. But the will to prepare to win is what separates the enduring champions from the pack. At Indian Wells one year I watched Henin and Martina Hingis walk out to practice. Prior to entering the court, Hingis, exquisitely facile on and off the court, clutched a football, joking that “my mother thinks this will help my serve.” There might have been a time when Hingis wholeheartedly would have believed this. But by this stage, Hingis was post-modern, ironic, nearly indifferent to boosting her game. Her so-so heave fluttered with the velocity an eight-year-old might generate. Picking it up off the ground, rearing back with hips and shoulders, Henin fired it back to Hingis with the zip of an aspiring Brett Favre.
So at her core, Henin was a grinder, less world-weary than pained, less cocky than determined, unquestionably insular but also graced with a vision that saw a spectacular range of oncourt possibilities. For it’s rare when a grinder is also a shotmaker. Henin’s ability to construct points was enchanting. The backhand, of course, was the signature shot, the personal gift she’d had since childhood, a free-spirited shoulder turn and willingness not just to let go and fling it into corners but also the wisdom to mix in slices, lobs, drop shots, and other variations. Any stroke that leaves John McEnroe in awe is surely a sign of genius. To her credit, Henin knew a great one-handed backhand was hardly enough. First to upgrade was her forehand, a shot she learned to make terminal in a way that augmented the backhand. Then came the serve, a stroke she indeed struggled with frequently throughout her entire career. So many times I would notice her various takebacks and discuss them with her coach, Carlos Rodriguez. So many times he would explain to me why she was taking one approach or another.
Most of all, what I loved was seeing Henin so engaged. Steve Stefanki, a coach I admire very much, told me once he cares about people perceiving themselves as contenders – people engaged in refinement, in improvement. Outcome, he noted, is passive. But process is active. More than any woman player of recent times – and on a par with the likes of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal – Henin was a supreme activist. I won’t claim she was a saint. Unquestionably there were times when Henin’s will to succeed got the best of her, when she would engage in, yes, a moment of cheating in her ’03 French semifinal versus Serena, when Henin had signaled for Serena to pause when serving and then neglected to tell the umpire about it. There was a bluntness to her comments that with a touch of thought might have earned her more kindly love. But there was never a doubt just how much she wanted it – and how much raw passion, focus, tenacity, and even beauty she brought to her craft. I only wish we could have more. We shall not see the likes of Justine Henin for many years to come – if ever. And as I contemplate the rash of injuries and withdrawals that have plagued the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, I miss that very much. As always, we would love to hear from you! Questions, comments, personal experiences all create helpful dialogue for everyone! Please click here to send us your email.
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