With the current suspension of the ATP and WTA Tours, we are opening up our US Open vault to bring you full match videos of classic encounters through the years in New York.
Watch on YouTube: Justine Henin vs. Venus Williams, 2007 US Open women's singles semifinals
No one knew it at the time, perhaps not even Justine Henin herself. But the 2007 US Open turned out to be the Belgian's last dance in New York.
The 2003 US Open champ entered the 2007 event as the world No. 1, and she lived up to that billing by storming through the field without dropping a set. In her first four matches—each of which included a bagel set—she dropped just 11 total games.
She then faced a daunting stretch run, with Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova—all former US Open champions—across the net in the final three rounds.
None of those heavy hitters could take a set off the silky-smooth Henin, though both Williams sisters pushed her to an opening-set tiebreak. It was the semifinal against Venus that stood as Henin's toughest test of the fortnight, with the American keeping the match tight until the final ball.
Henin's 2007 US Open title capped a remarkable two-year stretch at the Slams in which she won three titles, reached three additional finals and one additional semifinal in seven appearances. She would cap her career in 2011, after coming out of a two-year retirement from 2008-09, with seven major singles titles, including a Roland Garros three-peat from 2005-07.
The complete '07 Henin-Venus showdown is now available to watch on the US Open YouTube channel. For a coming attraction, view the match highlights below.
