Incredible Serena Williams and Justine Henin US Open feat set to be matched by Jasmine Paolini and Bianca Andreescu
The US Open women’s singles draw threw up plenty of crunch round one clashes for fans to enjoy.
One of the most notable opening round matches pits fifth seed Jasmine Paolini against 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu for a place in round two.
Keen tennis fans may remember that this is not the first time the two have met in 2024, with previous contests at the French Open and Wimbledon already.
That makes them the first women in 17 years to meet at those three Grand Slam events in a row, emulating a feat last achieved by two icons of the game: Serena Williams and Justine Henin.
Williams and Henin’s run
Williams and Henin’s rivalry was one of the most enduring and significant on the WTA Tour during the 2000s.
The pair met 14 times, with Williams leading the head-to-head 8-6, though in 2007 it was seven-time Grand Slam champion Henin who had the upper hand.
She won three of their four contests that season, including all three at Grand Slam level.
Williams saved a match point to defeat Henin in the Miami Open final but a few months later the Belgian gained revenge, prevailing 6-4, 6-3 in the French Open quarter-finals – and going on to win the title.
A matter of weeks later they faced again in the last eight of Wimbledon and Henin again prevailed, claiming a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory.
At the end of the summer, they met in the third straight Grand Slam and again in the quarter-final, with Henin triumphant for the third time.
The Belgian silenced Williams’ home crowd with a 7-6(3), 6-1 victory, and would go on to win the last of her seven majors.
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Paolini and Andreescu match extraordinary streak
Almost two decades on, Andreescu and Paolini will be the first women since them to face off at Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open in the same year.
In both meetings so far, Paolini has prevailed – and has ultimately gone on to reach the final.
At Roland Garros, the pair met in the third round and the Italian, seeded 12th at the time, prevailed 6-1, 3-6, 6-0 in a topsy-turvy encounter.
Paolini and Andreescu then again locked horns in round three at Wimbledon, with the seventh seed sealing a 7-6(4), 6-1 win at the All England Club.
Unlike Williams and Henin, Andreescu and Paolini will not be meeting in the same round at every tournament.
Paolini heads in as the favourite following her previous two wins and her 2024 form, though former US Open champion Andreescu should not be discounted.
Other streaks
Such streaks aren’t common, but there are other examples of players meeting in multiple Grand Slam tournaments in a row.
Perhaps the most famous example in recent history concerned Williams and older sister Venus, with Serena winning four Grand Slam finals in a row between the two to complete the first ‘Serena Slam’.
Serena defeated Venus in the 2002 French Open final for her second Grand Slam singles title and then won the following Wimbledon, US Open, and Australian Open finals.
Forty years ago, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert met in three straight Grand Slam finals – with Navratilova triumphing in Paris, London, and New York.
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