After runner placements in Brisbane and the Australian Open, Justine Henin captured her first title since rejoining the tour.  At the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, a premier indoor clay tournament, Henin prevailed over Samantha Stosur 6-4,2-6,6-1 in the finals.

As a result of a flubbed forehand volley, Stosur faced double break point in the second set.  However, Stosur rebounded with a myriad of good serves to hold for 2-1.  Next, serving at 2 all, by netting a backhand, Stosur stared at her third break point this set.  Again with a couple of huge serves, Stosur remained on track at 3-2.  Then, after Henin netted a forehand, Stosur had her initial break point.  Henin escaped with a decent serve. Next, with a forehand crosscourt pass winner, Stosur fabricated her second break point which she converted when Henin erred with a forehand up the line.  After consolidating for 5-2, with a forehand up the line winner, Stosur broke to take the set.

Subsequent to opening the third set with a love hold, Stosur made three consecutive errors to hand Henin triple break point. When Stosur dumped a forehand into the net, Henin took a 2-0 lead.  Following an easy game to consolidate, with a forehand winner and two sensational returns forcing Stosur into miscues, Henin had triple break point again.  This time, Stosur double faulted to extend Henin’s advantage to 4-1.  After another comfortable hold, Henin obtained double break point with backhand volley winner.  With another deep forehand return, Henin coerced Stosur into a wayward shot to capture the championship.

This week, most of the seeds made an early exit.  Svetlana Kuznetsova, the defending champion, was taken down in the second round by Na Li. Caroline Wozniacki, the top seed, was ousted in the second round by Lucie Safarova.  Her first tournament after months of nursing a back injury, Dinara Safina fell in the quarterfinals to Shahar Peer.  Before being stopped by Stosur, Russian qualifier Anna Lapushchenkova beat Safarova to reach her first tour semifinal.

Ecstatic with bagging her 42nd career title, last one was in 2008 Antwerp, Henin reiterated how much she was enjoying the game since her comeback.  Henin credited Roger Federer’s win at the French Open for “[bringing] back the fire” which instigated her return to competitive play.  Henin was glad that she could share this special moment with the crowd and her love ones.  From 24, Henin will climb into the top 20; Stosur will also see bump in her ranking.

With the Australian Open approximately one week away, in the finals of the Brisbane International Open, top seed Andy Roddick battled defending champion Radek Stepanek.  Roddick edged out Stepanek 7-6, 7-6 to capture his first 2010 title.

With Stepanek serving at 2-3 in the first set, Roddick had the chance to draw first blood when a forehand volley winner gave him break point.  However, with a good serve resulting in a return error, Stepanek got back on track.  Roddick manufactured another break point opportunity, but, with strategic volleying, Stepanek squared the set at 3 all.  The next game, as Roddick misfired on a backhand pass, Stepanek had his initial break point. Roddick dug himself out with a couple of service bombs. After Roddick failed to convert on two set points on Stepanek’s serve, the tiebreaker went into effect.  Once Stepanek double faulted to hand Roddick a 2-1mini-break advantage, his play deteriorated.  Thanks to a bunch of backhand errors from Stepanek, Roddick swiftly claimed the set.

As a result of four consecutive errors by Stepanek including two double faults, Roddick grabbed a break advantage.  After Roddick had no trouble consolidating, he crushed a backhand down the line for another break point.  With Stepanek bitten by the double fault bug again, Roddick jumped to a double break lead for 3-0. In no time, Roddick stretched his edge to 5-1.  But, with  Roddick serving for the championship at 5-2, Stepanek struck a forehand up the line pass for break point.  Then, with a stumbling Roddick unable to reach a spectacular lob, Stepanek wiped out one break.  Subsequent to an easy service game, Stepanek forced a couple of backhand errors from Roddick to level the set at 5 all.  Following an uneventful game, Stepanek took his first lead at 6-5.  Ultimately, Roddick steadied his play to push the set to a tiebreaker. In a charitable mood again, Stepanek started by donating a mini-break with a backhand crosscourt mistake.  As Stepanek’s backhand fell apart, Roddick built a 6-1 edge. Still, never one to fold, Stepanek raised his performance and expunged five championship points.  Moreover, Stepanek provoked a return error to obtain set point.  But, when Stepanek’s slice backhand sailed long, both players were knotted at 7. On his serve, Roddick arrived at another championship point with an overhead winner. When Stepanek double faulted,  Andy finally put his pesky opponent away.

It was a challenging week for Roddick despite being victorious in the end.  The American had a narrow escape in the semifinals against Tomas Berdych after dropping the first set.  Roddick’s break point conversion ratio was horrendous in the semis and carried over into the finals.  Andy will need to bulk up that area of his game if he plans to make a serious impression in Melbourne.