It seemed as if she had never been gone--back from a two-year break, Justine Henin won her Australian Open quarterfinal in straight sets over ex-Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I) Nadia Petrova. Henin was Yokozuna (=Grand Champion) prior to her retirement. Yokozuna is a title for life, meaning that a former Yokozuna cannot be demoted; he or she can only be considered "inactive". Reaching a grand-slam semifinal or two quarterfinals over the course of one year is enough to reactiviate Yokozuna status, and Henin did this right in her very first comeback tournament. With Henin's and fellow-Belgian Kim Clijsters' return--who made it straight back to Ozeki (=Champion) by winning the US Open--ladies' tennis has certainly received a much needed quality boost.
In the semifinal Henin will meet Jie Zheng, who earned her career's second Komusubi (=Junior Champion II) promotion as a result of her straight sets victory over Maria Kirilenko. Should Henin also get by Zheng, in the final one of the Williams sisters will likely be waiting. This would make the Australian open final an all-Yokozuna affair.
In the mens' tournament, Marin Cilic secured a promotion to Sekiwake by beating ex-Ozeki Andy Roddick in five sets. Next will be the other Andy, Andy Murray, how is also back to Sekiwake after eliminating Yokozuna Rafael Nadal. Cilic and Murray retain a slim chance at an Ozeki promotion if they win this tournament.
No comments:
Post a Comment