Champion let down by mind and matter

Tennis/French Open: The world number one and 2003 French Open champion, Justine Henin-Hardenne, is saying she has not fully recovered from sickness. We are telling her she has psychological problems.  Johnny Watterson at Roland Garros reports

As if departing in the second round of the Grand Slam you won for the first time 12 months ago wasn't enough to deal with.

Tough times for the 21-year-old Belgian. The bald facts are that falling 7-5, 6-4 yesterday to Italy's Tathiana Garbin in one hour 57 minutes has put her in a club of two. Since the inception of the French Championships in 1925, the only holders to have gone out so early are Henin-Hardenne and Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario. The Spaniard won the title in 1989 and lost to Argentina's Mercedes Paz the following year at the same stage as Henin-Hardenne yesterday.

Tough times indeed. Being statistical bedmates with Sanchez-Vicario is cold comfort as she faces up to Wimbledon in around four weeks' time and with the Williams sisters coming back to fitness.

Following the diagnosis of a glandular fever virus in mid-April, Henin-Hardenne has not been on the main tour and her involvement here was always going to be a gamble. Nonetheless, the 10 double faults that littered her erratic game against a player ranked 86th in the world seemed to arrive at pressure points. Twice when she was ahead and serving, she hit double faults to let the Italian back into the match.

That is more a mental problem, she was told, somewhat icily, at the press conference afterwards.

"No, I think you can look at the statistics. Look at them 10 times and it's not going to change anything. It's a situation that's not easy to deal with. When you miss competition, when you come back, you can't increase your level in two days. It's very difficult. But it was a little bit too much pressure for me today. I was playing two points 100 per cent and the next four points I didn't."

That was the player's way of explaining that it was physical, not mental and if one thing is not right, the chain reaction goes into meltdown. The indications are that the virus is burning out and with her game more comfortable on grass, her long-term thoughts can at least be positive.

Garbin, who had won one WTA title to Henin-Hardenne's 18, was aware of her opponent's vulnerability and savagely grasped the moment. Bold, creative, risky and unfussy, she pulled it off by daring to believe she could, then executing the perfect game for the job. And her victory is not a precedent in her career. In 2001 she defeated the then world number four, Monica Seles, and subsequently pushed Venus Williams 7-5, 7-6.

Still, the 26-year-old accepted that she met the world's top player at the best possible time. As Martina Navratilova found out this week, the locker room is no place for the faint-hearted or for misdirected sympathy.

"Every time I went to the net, I felt she had a problem passing me and (had) to be aggressive. So I kept going and played aggressively," said Garbin. "You know what," she then added. "I don't really believe yet that I beat her, so I'm just unbelievably happy for my tennis career."

For the draw, the top half now opens out considerably. With Venus and Serena Williams and Jennifer Capriati in the bottom half, the chances are that one of those Americans will make it through to the final.

Up top, French hopes will now rest more firmly with the third seed, Amelie Mauresmo, who came through her match against Medina Garrigues in three sets.

Mauresmo began her match well against the 21-year-old Garrigues, hit a bad patch in the middle, where she dropped a set, and then finished strongly. It is not the sort of example she hopes to set against the seeded players. They will make life considerably more difficult during mid-match lapses. She is also a player strongly governed by her feelings, although the more destructive impact that can have on a career has largely been removed.

"I think I was lacking aggression. I was very aggressive in the first set," said Mauresmo.

"And then she started getting into it. Then I started being aggressive again, playing deeper shots and feeling physically better. I felt much happier today than I did during the first match. I think that things are falling into place."