Serena Really Did Play Horribly

Serena Williams often is criticized for not being gracious enough when she loses. She rarely gives credit to her opponent. She usually talks instead about how horribly she played.
But the simple fact of the matter is that, for someone of her ability, she did play horribly against Justine Henin in her 7-6, 6-1 tonight.
A forehand in the net. That is how Serena ended the match. And though Henin served well, Henin wasn't without some characteristically shaky play at different critical junctures in the match. Up in the first set, Henin started double-faulting and Serena was able to break and even had a set point at 6-5.
Serena had her chances. And she had at least one spectacular point--the first point of the tiebreak. Sometimes tennis seems unfair. That point was so incredible it should have been worth a lot more than just one point.
Usually Serena's the one you can count on when it comes to the really big points. But tonight Henin was the steady one in the tiebreak. Serena was the one making odd decisions, like a half-baked drop shot attempt at a critical moment in the tiebreak.
And then where did Serena go in the second set? She stopped coming to the net. She stopped moving forward. She let Justine take control of the points. Maybe Serena was disheartened by the missed chances in the first set. Maybe she couldn't get some horrendous errors that should have been putaways out of her head. But she was simply not in the match in the second set.
Justine had some unbelievable shot-making and beautiful cross-court play. Still, there's little question in my mind that Serena has more talent than any other player on the women's tour.
But grit, determination and, perhaps Henin's least recognized skill, an uncanny sense of anticipation that more than makes up for her much smaller reach, all led Justine into the next round.
Should Venus meet her there, I'd favor Venus. She doesn't usually like it when someone beats her little sister. And, unlike Serena, Venus has seemed very focussed so far this tournament. Should Venus get through tomorrow night, there will be another exciting match-up between Justine and one of the Williams sisters! Will Justine become the first to beat Serena and Venus in a Grand Slam one right after the next? Would she have anything left for the final if she did? Martina Hingis didn't the last time that feat was accomplished, losing in the Australian Open final to Capriati, if memory serves me correctly. Everyone keeps talking about how weak the bottom part of the draw is, but Kuznetsova won this very tournament just three years ago. Things might be falling into place very nicely for her.
As for Venus, well, it won't be long until big sister steps back up to the service line. Can Venus come a step closer to moving her six Grand Slam titles closer to little sister's eight? I may have both of my finalists out of the draw now, but there may still be a shot at a Williams there. I know who I'm rooting for.
Allez Venus!