Belgian has changed for the better
For Henin beating Venus was a significant victory since she hadn’t defeated the older Williams sister since their first-ever encounter at the German Open in 2001. From that point on the Belgian lost her next seven matches against the American, and was struggling to contend with Venus’ power game. But the most interesting thing is that at this U.S. Open these two were facing each other for the first time since the 2003 Australian Open semifinal (won by Venus in straight sets) so in a very real way their history wasn’t a factor.

Henin is a very different player since the last time she and Venus collided. She’s now the No. 1 player in the world, and she has won all six of her majors after that 2003 Melbourne defeat to Venus. Being a six-times-over champion at the majors gives Henin a great amount of confidence, a confidence she just didn't have before achieving such success.

And Henin has come up with a winning approach to playing the Williams sisters. She is so willing to attack, so aggressive in her play. And by consistently employing this style she manages to keep Venus and Serena on the defensive for the most part. Henin also keeps the sisters on the run, steering them in one direction and then in another along the baseline until she finds an opening to launch her brilliant backhand or a well-placed forehand. She has got their number.

Henin is unlike her top American rivals in that she lives and breathes tennis while Serena and Venus have so many outside interests that their focus is not always where it needs to be as far as their tennis career is concerned. In all the years I’ve watched Henin play she has been the consummate professional. When Henin walks on the court, she stands tall despite being one of the shorter players in the game. She’s always in shape and ready to play. She's always ready to summon all she can from her game in order to win another title.

None better than Henin in the clutch
The opportunity to win a seventh career Grand Slam title was there for both Venus and Henin in this the year's final major (Serena is the leader among active players in majors won with eight), but now that opportunity exists only for Henin. It's the easy and wise thing to do to predict that the Belgian will have little trouble beating Kuznetsova in straight sets in Saturday night’s final. So I predict just that.

It’s hard to say that in doing so I'm going out on a shaky limb since Henin holds a dominating 14-2 record over Kuznetsova. Although the Russian won their last encounter on clay at Berlin this spring, that victory occurred in a very different arena and on a very different surface than what we find at the U.S. Open. Kuznetsova is a streaky player, and while she is capable of getting hot during a match, it would be extremely surprising if she could keep up a high level of play during a big-time match. Her nerves can cost her. They have in the past, and they likely will again in the future.

Henin has too much firepower and experience for Kuznetsova to contend with, especially when the Belgian puts her game into high gear in such a huge match. Henin is an all-around better player than her Russian counterpart. The one thing that Henin needs to be careful of is not getting caught up and distracted by her achievement of beating Serena and Venus at the same major. That's quite a feat -- done only once before and that by Martina Hingis back in her prime.

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While nothing is certain, knowing Henin she's not likely to fall in the look-what-I-have-done trap. To her it was tremendously rewarding to dispatch the Williams sisters in back-to-back matches. But she won't allow herself to linger on thoughts of that success. She knows winning the title is what it's all about.

It's been an emotional, up-and-down year for Henin. A divorce kept her from playing the Australian Open. Reuniting with her family after a seven-year break helped fuel her to a fourth French Open title in the last five years. Now another U.S. Open title is within her grasp. It's one win away. She' been a one-woman wrecking crew these two weeks here, and who's to question that she's ready to take her demolition game at its full force against Kuznetsova and reduce to rubble the final challenger standing in the way of her winning this hard court major for a second time.

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