Deserved rip job of the day

Because it takes place half a world away in a sport with perpetually declining Q-ratings and is the major tournament most likely to be passed over by star players, the Australian Open results get little press. But there were two major developments in Melbourne this weekend:

(1) Roger Federer, the best tennis player in the world, moved himself half-way to Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam titles (the Grand Slam Tournaments are Australian, French and US Opens and Wimbledon) -- he became emotional upon victory and repeatedly noted how humbled and great he felt accepting the champion's trophy from Australian tennis legend Rod Laver -- a fine moment.

(2) Justine Henin-Hardenne -- the small, suspiciously muscular and often classless Belgian (her penchant for petty gamesmanship is well-known on the tour) did the nearly unprecedented and totally unthinkable: she RETIRED in the middle of a Grand Slam final. In 1989, Michael Chang refused in THREE STRAIGHT MATCHES to quit despite horrific leg cramps. He overcame those in a show of will that is now legend -- winning those matches (quarters, semis and the final) and becoming the first US player in more than 30 years to win in Paris. In 2006, Henin-Hardenne retires due to stomach cramps and denies Amelie Mauresmo her well-deserved moment in the spotlight.

Henin-Hardenne was down just 1-6, 0-2 -- if you think that's impossible to overcome, remember that Steffi Graf trailed Wimbledon dominatrix Martina Navratilova 5-7, 0-2 and had lost six-straight games . . . she then won 12 of the next 13 to win her first Wimbledon title, 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 and blew Navratilova off the court. Stomach cramps can be debilitating, or they can go away. Mauresmo had ZERO previous Grand Slam titles, not more than a dozen like Navratilova -- so the CHOKE factor definitely loomed. Henin-Hardenne owed it to herself and her opponent to play on in this match -- if she really was going to go down 6-0 in the second set, it would have taken only another 15-20 minutes. Pam Shriver, Navratilova's former doubles partner and a commentator for ESPN rips Henin-Hardenne in the column linked to this post.

Deservedly so.