Henin-Hardenne steamrolls Pierce

PARIS – Grand Slam, indeed!

Justine Henin-Hardenne slammed Mary Pierce grandly in the French Open final on Saturday, reducing the Frenchwoman to tears and an apology to fans after the most lopsided title match at Roland Garros in 17 years.

Henin-Hardenne couldn’t have played much better, or Pierce much worse, than they did in a 6-1, 6-1 drubbing that gave the Belgian her second French championship and fourth major trophy just months after she returned to tennis from a long layoff caused by an energy-draining blood virus and a knee injury.

“It’s a lot of emotion for me,” a smiling Henin-Hardenne said in French as she accepted the same ornate Suzanne Lenglen Cup she won in 2003, along with a check for just over $1 million. “I lived through very difficult moments last year. This fills me with happiness.”

Bedridden at times during her seven-month absence from the game until starting her comeback in March, and bothered by a back injury the past two weeks, Henin-Hardenne looked the picture of health in a masterful performance on a breezy, occasionally drizzly afternoon at Roland Garros.

“I probably enjoy my game more than before my illness,” said Henin-Hardenne, who turned 23 three days earlier. “I enjoy every moment I’m on the court. Every ball I hit, it’s with my heart.”

She glided with ease on the red clay and did anything she wanted to do – clipping lines and corners with groundstrokes, hammering overheads, dropping volleys – while getting plenty of help from an outclassed Pierce, the 2000 champion.

“Excuse me. It’s very difficult to speak right now,” the 30-year-old Pierce tearfully told the crowd in French after the most one-sided French final since Steffi Graf beat Natasha Zvereva 6-0, 6-0 in 1988. “I’m sad because I lost. I wanted to play a better match. I’m sorry it didn’t last very long.”

When she gathered her emotions afterward, she said neither patriotic pressure nor nerves got to her, but rather an odd lack of tension before her third French final, 11 years after her first.

“You have to have some kind of emotion to be up for the match, and before today’s match I was really calm,” she said, adding that she sometimes has had trouble breathing or eating before big matches in the past. “Maybe I was too calm. I needed to be more aggressive.”

Henin-Hardenne’s first French final triumph didn’t last much longer – a 6-0, 6-4 romp past fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters. Nor was last year’s final much of match, Anastasia Myskina beating Elena Dementieva 6-1, 6-2. It was the third straight year the final has been a blowout.

“It wasn’t an easy situation for her,” Henin-Hardenne said. “She had to deal with a lot of pressure, being here in the final in France. I think it’s very difficult. I did put a lot of pressure on her. For sure the crowd would prefer a closer match than that, but I’m very happy with the way I won.”

The only major Henin-Hardenne has not won is Wimbledon. She said she’ll give that a try, but will skip the warmup grass-court tournament in Eastbourne.

“My body is a little bit tired,” she said. “I won’t make the same mistakes as in the past. I’ll take the rest when I need it.”

Men’s final

Teen prodigy Rafael Nadal and Argentine journeyman Mariano Puerta meet today in the first all-lefty men’s final at Roland Garros since 1946 and the first in any Grand Slam event since 1998.

At No. 5 in the rankings, Nadal is the top-ranked left-hander and the only one in the top 20, allowing him to hit shots at angles other players seldom see. But that advantage will be neutralized against Puerta, third-highest in the rankings among lefties.

Nadal is a big favorite in the wake of his semifinal victory over top-ranked Roger Federer. The young Spaniard’s heavy topspin from the left side had Federer off balance and indecisive about where to attack, and he committed 62 unforced errors.

It was a ragged performance atypical of the stylish Swiss, and he blamed Nadal.

“You’ve got to understand, you’re not going to see the same guy out on the court against a totally different player,” Federer said. “The points are played a different way. My kick serve doesn’t bounce to his backhand, it bounces to his forehand. So it changes everything. And his lefty spin always takes me a while to figure out.”

Left-handed Grand Slam champions were once common. They included Rod Laver, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors and Puerta’s Argentine compatriot, Guillermo Vilas.

Aspiring to join that group is Nadal, who has plenty going for him besides being a lefty. He’s strong, fast, creative and thus far unfazed by the Grand Slam stage.

Puerta’s dogged baseline game is to be admired, and he survived consecutive 3 1/2 -hour five-setters to reach the final.

“I can’t believe that on Sunday I’m going to play in the final of Roland Garros,” the outgoing Puerta said. “It really is amazing. It’s even more incredible because of what has happened to me over the past four years.”

Puerta’s fortunes began to decline after he cracked the top 20 in 2000. His suspension began in October 2003 after he tested positive for clenbuterol, a drug whose effects resemble those of anabolic steroids by promoting muscle growth.

An investigative panel decided against a more severe penalty after determining a doctor prescribed the drug to Puerta to treat asthma.

Ranked 440th last August, Puerta revived his career by playing events in such places as Iran and Uzbekistan.

“I might be an example for many young people who can see that I’ve been fighting, that I was very stubborn, that I had an aim and I stuck to that,” Puerta said.