04/18/24
January 27, 2006
Amelie Mauresmo wins Australian Open.: her first Grand Slam seven years after making the final as a teenager. Sadly, the final itself was won in a walkover when Justine Henin-Hardenne retired due to illness.
Mauresmo took full advantage of the good fortune she had in the draw (three of her six opponents retired, and a couple of upsets made her trip easier), but she was the best player in the tournament regardless. She would have beaten anyone in front of her. She's deserved this win for years. Henin-Hardenne's quitting will be second-guessed for months, but whatever. Good on Mauresmo regardless. May she win many more.
posted by chicobangs at 11:48 PM on January 27, 2006
Professional wrestling has better "professional" athletes than Henin-Hardenne. There you see guys with broken limbs, concussions and heads split open who don't quit, they'll do everything to sell the match and put the other guy over, especially if a belt is changing hands. This Aussie Open final was sick. Mauresmo had Henin-Hardenne beaten badly, and then the latter just quits with an upset tummy??! This is a Major tournament, there are amateur athletes that drag their bodies across fields and courts all over the world for much less. Like Mary Carillo said, she could have gutted it out for a few more games, the way Andre Aggassi has done in the past, and give Mauresmo her first Grand Slam championship and make it a memorable one, not an, "oh, I'm going to lose, this isn't fun, I'm taking my ball and going home" decider. For all the time she stood out at the title ceremony wincing and grimacing, she could have stood on the court with a racquet in her hand and whiffed a little, but she didn't. I hope she learns fast that losing gracefully is far less humiliating than quitting for a stomach ache. She could even have requested 5 minutes to gather herself, and it would have been granted. It was only the 4th time in 104 years that a finalist pulled out of a match due to injury or illness. This illness looked frivolous (if not phony, but I don't want to go there -- maybe she has leukemia, for all I know?) . . . is it possibly a factor that immune systems shut down and skin becomes a little thinner and those sniffles get a whole lot scarier when you leave Belgium and make your permanent residence in Monte Carlo? (If ya think I'm bitter about it, spare a thought for organizers and sponsors and fans that travelled and paid good money to attend this final. Think of Amelie Mauresmo, who instead of celebrating a dream, looked uncomfortable and occasionally shattered getting a title handed to her.)
posted by the red terror at 09:32 AM on January 28, 2006
The other thing about retiring hurt or sick - although someone correct me if I'm wrong - is that the loss doesn't count against world rankings calculations. So if you're gonna lose, and a loss would drop you down the rankings... Or am I being ungracious?
posted by owlhouse at 02:04 PM on January 28, 2006
henin's had a history of a virus that took out for a while. so i dont think this virus is coming out of nowhere. i would give her the benefit of the doubt.
posted by ny knicks at 03:01 PM on January 28, 2006
It seemed a little bit odd to me especially after hearing brad gilbert's story of agassi being ill but still grinding out the entire match. Not what you would expect from a professional.
posted by martin.ardolino@sbcglobal.net at 10:15 PM on January 28, 2006
Henin-Hardenne had lost that match long before she called for the trainer. It was good to see Mauresmo win one though.