ANOTHER SCALP FOR HENIN: THE FRIDAY FIVE

By Maud Watson

Henin Collects Another Scalp – The weekend before it was Flipkins and Pennetta, and this past weekend it was current world No. 20, Nadia Petrova. Henin once again vanquished her foe in straight sets in an exhibition match in Cairo. Granted, Henin has not faced the likes of either Williams sister, Clijsters, or any other Top 10 players for that matter, but there’s no denying that she’s looked sharp in the early stages of her comeback.  I, for one, am licking my chops to see what she can do at the 2010 Aussie Open.

Justine Henin

The Ban is Lifted – It was nice to see the ITF end things on a positive note for 2009. After what I personally consider some questionable rulings on their part, I was thrilled to read that the ITF did the right thing by agreeing to suspend the bans that had been put on Belgian tennis players Yanina Wickmayer and Xavier Malisse. It is unfortunate that neither player will be able to play the Australian Open given that entries are now closed (unless of course someone is kind enough to offer them a wildcard), but at least they will not be subjected to losing an entire year of their careers.

Back in the Mix – At the end of last week, the IOC announced that Mixed Doubles would be a part of the 2012 Olympic Games in London. It’s been a long time since mixed doubles was included in the Olympics, with American Hall of Famers Richard Norris Williams II and Hazel Wightman being the last pair to compete and win in the event back in 1924. Not sure if it’s too early to start taking bets, but who’s got odds on Serbia or India taking gold?  (And who wishes there were still the possibility of seeing Federer and Hingis take on the competition?)

The Boys are Back In Town – The town of Abu Dhabi that is.  The exhibition will feature six of the world’s top 10 players on the ATP World Tour, including Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.  The event was a great success in 2009, and it’s definitely shaping up as a great way to kick off the 2010 tennis season.

King Juan Carlos – In the annual Spanish Masters event, which was held in Bilbao Spain, Juan Carlos Ferrero proved he still had plenty of game left in the tank, when he defeated countryman Tommy Robredo in a three-set semifinal encounter before going on to take the title over Nicolas Almagro in three tight sets. It couldn’t have been a better way to end the year for the former world No. 1 and 2003 Roland Garros champion, who earlier this year had slipped to No. 115 in the rankings and required a wildcard to play in Wimbledon. He put together a remarkable summer and finished his year just outside of the Top 20.  Fingers crossed that he can build on this success in 2010 and fans around the world will treated to some vintage Ferrero.  Vamos!