Henin upsets Williams sisters

Serena Williams announced that she was going to ring the US on Saturday and tell Venus she was still the No1. She rang all right but then forgot to tell her big sister the good news. It was not the only bit of the script to elude her.

Yesterday was supposed to see Serena capturing the first clay-court title of her career, making it the first time that two sisters were in the world's top three. Somehow that aim eluded her as well.

Instead the frail figure of Justine Henin became a heavy wrecker of ambitions. She had ended Jennifer Capriati's hopes of regaining the world No1 spot, taking an amazing 10 games out of the last 11. Now she halted Williams at the last gasp with a 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 victory for the German Open title - a win dependent entirely on the last two points.

At 5-5 in the final-set tie-break Henin conjured one of the strokes of the match, an exquisite half-volley drop-shot winner taken almost from behind her. Then Williams tried to generate thunder with her forehand and boomed it too long once too often. Throughout the final the Belgian had created nearly all the moments of exhilarating skill, Williams most of the power.

There were errors too which lent an edge to the atmosphere, but too many of them came from Williams. When she reduces them the titles should come rolling in, but when will that happen? Even at 20, time is passing fast. "Yeah, I guess it is my focus," Williams agreed dreamily, snorting at the idea that a sports psychologist might have something to say about that. "I don't need no shrink," she said. "Well, not for this."

Henin had fewer such fears. "I often get too tense to win," she admitted. "But when I was 1-4 down in the final set against [Elena] Likhovtseva I just told myself to be cool and somehow I won. I think maybe I won the tournament then."

In which case, the biggest title of her career was achieved on an outside court in the third round. But if the remedy proves effective in the long term, there will be triumphs greater than that.

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