To understand something of the state of the women's game--indifference, injuries, overall malaise--take a look at your last three Open champions and where they are now:

It was a trend we documented two years ago, and it still seems to be in a down-cycle. 

Justine Henin has been known as a great player with an unpredictable mind. If her nerves stayed in check she could beat anybody. But it's that 'if' that has prevented tennis pundits from calling her the unquestionable number one player in the world. If Serena or Venus are on their game, if Sharapova has her serve, then well ... Henin can't stand up to that.

Tonight, Justine Henin made those reservations seem a little silly. She won her seventh Grand Slam and second U.S. Open in the most dominating and convincing effort of her career.

"This one is maybe the most important one," she said afterwards. "The quality I played in the last few matches is amazing. It's just a great feeling because I had a tough draw and I had a lot of things to prove to myself."

On the way, she beat Serena for a third consecutive Grand Slam, this time in straight sets. She dismantled Wimbledon Champion Venus Williams, the player everyone said looked the best in this tournament.

Oh. And she didn't lose one set to anyone the whole way through. All on hard courts, too, which is not exactly the preferred surface of the four-time French Open Champ.

For two weeks, she was more aggressive than we've ever seen her. Before her match against Serena, her longtime coach Carlos Rodriguez told me: "I’d like Justine to go a little bit forward, to try to get to the net to put Serena out of rhythm and push her a little bit back.”

What that meant was he wanted his meek, 5'5 pupil to attack. In her 6-1, 6-3 Finals victory against Svetlana Kuznetsova tonight, she was 13 of 16 from the net. Against Serena she was 11 of 14.

Most importantly, she overcame her nerves. Before the tournament began she said the Williams sisters were still in her head. But last night, after she defeated Venus Williams, she said, "I didn't believe enough in myself, didn't trust myself enough in the last few years against [the Williams sisters]. And then this year a lot of things have changed. I trust myself much more."

Now, after her second Grand Slam this year, she's an undisputed champion.

After a divorce so messy that it caused her to withdraw from the Australian Open, Justine Henin-Hardenne returned to the 2007 tennis season with a new attitude and a new name: Justine Henin. Her triumph tonight was a coronation of her redemption and her personal struggle back to the top.

In a post-match ceremony on center court she was congratulated by Dick Enberg, the CBS announcer and stadium MC, who then introduced her as ... Justine Henin-Hardenne.

When he said it, the entire press room groaned let out a sustained groan. "Brutal!" "God! Did he say that!" "Just End Berg!" Meanwhile, Henin sat there with a plastic, awkward smile on her face until Enberg realized his mistake and reverted back to plain old Justine Henin.

After her stellar straight-sets semifinal victory, a reporter told Justine Henin that Venus Williams said she wasn't feeling 100 percent today.

"I'm surprised," interrupted Henin, in a deadpan voice.

This evening, Justine Henin become the first player since Martina Hingis at the 2001 Australian Open to beat both Williams sisters in one Grand Slam.

For a player who describes herself as mentally fragile—she said before the tournament that the Williams sisters weighed on her mind at Wimbledon—it was a significant accomplishment.

"I didn't believe enough in myself, didn't trust myself enough in the last few years against them," said Henin afterwards. "And then this year a lot of things have changed. I trust myself much more."

There were moments today when Henin looked tight and blew big chances. But there were also moments when she attacked ferociously, running to the net and volleying as well as she ever has. It made the difference.

"I still have a lot of respect, but I'm not scared [of the Williams sisters] anymore," she said. "It's been really, really important to me in this tournament to play both of them. It was a great challenge and I did it."

Tomorrow, she'll play for her second U.S. Open title and her seventh Grand Slam. (For those keeping score, Serena has eight and Venus has six.) Good stuff.

What's wrong with Venus Williams?

"I just was feeling dizzy, a little sick to the stomach," she said. "Was just having some energy problems. I'm not really sure what's wrong with me."

Neither does anyone else. After making 56 unforced errors in her agonizingly close quarterfinal match with Jelena Jankovic, Venus made 35 this afternoon—compared to 26 winners—in a straight-sets loss to Justine Henin.

Williams said she's been feeling strange—dizzy, tired, depleted—since she got two days off after the fourth round. That's when she told her mom, Oracene Williams, that something was wrong.

Oracene spoke to a group of reporters afterwards and revealed that Venus was feeling was sick after Wimbledon and was diagnosed with anemia.

"She was happy when she found out she had anemia and she thought that was it," said Oracene. "Now there's something else wrong. We need to get this checked out."

Venus told Oracene she was feeling sick after her match against Ana Ivanovic. It was a match where Richard Williams told me that something seemed a little off. Oracene recalled Venus telling her that when she hits a ball it feels like the ground beneath her is moving (sort of like vertigo). Oracene spent the last two days racing to Whole Foods buying up oranges for Venus, finding anything that could boost her energy.

Venus' boyfriend, Hank Kuehne, told me last week that he spends her matches paying close attention to her body language. While packing up the Williams family Lexus this evening he told me: "She looked zapped. I won't know what's wrong until I get in in the car with her tonight."

Venus was asked if she told her sister Serena about the apparent illness. "Serena was my opponent in the draw, too. I didn't tell her how I was feeling," she said laughing.

Maybe it's just fatigue after playing a three-set match the other night, or maybe it's something serious. The only thing that we do know: Venus didn't have the energy to keep up with Justine Henin today.

I tried it once, and nothing terrible happened.

So here, for our second attempt at live-blogging the Open, I'll be presenting a running account of the women's semifinal between Venus Williams and Justine Henin at Arthur Ashe.

If you feel like taking part in the coverage, chime in in the comments section or get me on AIM at ‘Jets20012.’

4:14: If Venus and Justine have a rally that lasts more than 10 seconds this sellout crowd might freakout. They were dead silent in the first match

4:15: Three early errors from Venus and an early break. Might she be nervous?

4:20: Janet Jackson is sitting in the Williams' family box, again. She was here earlier in the tournament.

4:29: Here's a way to explain how awful the tennis was earlier today. Venus and Henin are playing a little tight (9 winners to 13 unforced errors). And already the crowd is louder and the tennis looks unbelievably clean. Just wait until this gets good. Henin up 3-2 and a break.

4:34: Looks like Venus is trying to use the same strategy she did in her quarterfinal match -- she's coming to the net. Only six games deep here -- Henin up 4-2 --and she's been there six times.

4:39: Awww, synergy! They're playing Janet Jackson's "I'm Here" during the change-over.

4:42: Henin two points from the set at 0-30, 3-5. Venus is learning that Henin's return of serve -- where she just hit an unreal passing winner -- is not Jankovic's return.

4:44: Venus' serve comes back, finishes off Henin with a slicing ace. Henin will return to serve for the set

4:49: At double set-point Venus plays her best tennis. Hits two screaming winners. Deuce

4:51: Henin blows a third set point with an error. Says James: "this is exactly what happened when henin served for the first set in the serena match." henin got tight and serena broke her

4:52: Two straight long errors from henin. venus breaks. someone is getting nervous!

4:54: Loudest Ashe has been today. 27 shot rally, 7 back-to-back shots at the net, most of them vollies. Venus wins the point

4:56: Venus exhausted from that rally? Two straight doubles on four very tired looking serves

4:59: Venus holds. Jelena Jankovic said this would come down to the key points. Venus is collecting all of them. She's up 6-5 and has won three straight games.

5:02: The entire court is covered in shade now. Wind is picking up

5:03: 30-30 on Henin's serve. It's the battle of nerves! Says James: "most of their shots are bouncing by the service line...you cant explain that by wind alone"

5:05: Tiebreak! Henin holds serve. This is playing exactly like the first set of Henin v. Serena

5:07: 1-1 in the tiebreak. Is Venus disappointed she didn't break Henin? Venus said two nights ago the reason she beat Jankovic in the third set tie break was because Jankovic was so demoralized after not being able to break her. Is the same true of Venus now?

5:10: change sides. Henin up 4-2 in the tiebreak, up a mini.

5:12: After failing to break and some impossible vollies from Henin, Venus' body language is sagging. Down 6-2.

5:13: Henin takes the first set 7-2. Um, hi topsy turvy. At 5-3 in the set ALL Henin. At 6-5, ALL Venus. And Henin takes it.

5:14: Henin's first and second serve have been unreal. wins 73% of the points of her first serve and 67% (!!) off her second.

5:15: By the way: Played out exactly like the first set as the Serena match. I suspect Venus won't unravel quite the same way.

5:18: Justine starts the second set with a medical timeout. Apparently, she was having trouble breathing. Says james: "umm ... thats called nerves justine"

5:20: james reminds me of that classic 2003 semis justine played with capriati. before the match everyone was accusing justine of calling timeouts at inopportune times. says james: "in the semis match with capriati she didnt call for the trainer even though she was technically dead because she was afraid shed get booed. and she said after the match never again will i not call for the trainer."

5:25: Henin a ferocious animal? What did Carlos Rodriguez do to her? Henin is attacking the net and just BROKE Venus again. She's up 2-0 in the second. Oh, and she smiled too! First time for everything.

5:27: Henin holds again. She's up a set and 3-0. That's a lead.

5:29: Venus will be on serve. Assuming she holds, it'll go to 3-1. Justine said the biggest game fo the second set against Serena was at 3-1 when Justine held and steamrolled Williams. We'll have to watch that service game VERY closely.

5:31: James on henin right now: "she's so loose right now. notice how her shots are more penetrating deeper, closer to the corners of the court." It's Venus who's tight

5:33: There's the Venus hold at 3-1 (it was a challenge too). Here comes the biggest game of the match

5:35: Observation: What's up with these cheek puffs? Justine was saying she was having problems breathing, but they both look Louis Armstrong between points

5:38: Here's the ad and break point for Venus.

5:39: Screaming backhand winner for Venus. She breaks, we're on serve. 3-2 Henin

5:46: Venus's first serve is gone. Barely hanging on in this game, but Henin is letting her off the hook.

5:48: Venus gets her first serve in for only the second time this game. It's good enough for a service winner. We're tied at 3.

5:50: Venus looks much better when she's not serving. Henin is playing tight again, dropping meatballs in the middle of the service box. Venus is doing what Henin couldn't in the last game: taking advantage. Triple break.

5:51: A henin winner, and a venus error and it's suddenly 30-40. She's letting Henin back in this

5:53: "Bad Miss" was just groaned throughout the press room. Backhand error for Venus and it's deuce. Both players getting too scared to break

5:53: "Another" was just groaned. Error Venus. Ad Henin

5:54: Service winner in the body, Henin holds from Love-40. Both Venus and Henin can't close.

5:56: Venus just got her temperature taken. Weird!

5:57: It's 0-30 for Venus. First serve still gone

5:58: Well it's another triple break! Can Henin close? She'll serve for the match if she can get this one. This one is getting away from Venus and fast

5:59: A break! She's serving for the match. By the way, the rhythm of this match is SO WEIRD right now. Both players, even though they've only been playing 90 minutes, look like they're going to fall over.

6:03: two points from winning and venus breaks! so many wasted opportunites for henin against a very erratic and nervous venus williams.

6:08: If Venus can find her serve here, we might have a very long match ahead of us

6:09: It's 30-30, Henin again two points away from winning at 5-4 Henin

6:10: forehand error! goes wide on venus, it's match point

6:10: backhand error, henin wins!

6:23: Venus entered the women's locker room breathing hard and sniffling. i couldn't quite tell if it was because she had been crying or because she was stuffed up. A stunned Williams camp gathered together outside the women's locker room trying to figure it out. "She's been eating, I just don't get it," said one. "Bad, unfortunate," replied oracene williams, venus' mom

As Jelena Jankovic was picking up some final things at Arthur Ashe Stadium yesterday after her loss to Venus Williams in the quarterfinals, I asked her if Venus needed to pick up her level of play to beat Justine Henin later today, especially since she made 56 unforced errors in their match.

Jankovic offered this: "I think Venus likes to play Justine. Venus doesn’t like to play me. She is always very nervous against me and I felt that yesterday. It’s very rare to see Venus so nervous. But when she likes to play somebody and she’s motivated and she has no fear, she’s the last one out there.”

Lifetime, Venus is 7-1 against Henin, but she hasn’t played her in four-and-a-half years -- during which time Henin has won six Grand Slams. It's going to be a good one.

A week ago today, Anna Chakvetadze won in straight sets in a little-noticed second-round match. She won a little bit after 12pm on a backcourt at a time when the majority of the gallery crowd was still in transit.

Afterwards, there was such little interest in the media in talking to her that her post-match press conference was conducted in a player’s lounge area—not an interview room—with two bloggers.

“There were more interesting matches to put on the show courts,” she said in her straightforward manner.

“I am just trying to play my game, play my best,” she continued. “If you play better, more people will pay attention to you.”

Tomorrow, Chakvetadze, the number six player on the women’s tour, will play Svetlana Kuznetsova for a chance to reach the women’s finals.

Last week, I asked her to describe her game to me.

“I'm not like a big hitter like most other girls,” she said. “I'm not that tall. I don't have a great serve, so I have to play smart and run more on the court and move my opponent more.”

She doesn’t exactly fit within today’s women’s power tennis. Justine Henin plays a strategic game full of change-ups, but Henin also has the power to match. Chakvetadze, who is 5’7 and 128 pounds, has to use all strategy. She’s been described in tennis kingdom as a Martina Hingis 2.0—a comparison she rolled her eyes at.

“Lot of times people compare my game with Martina,” she said. “I respect her so much like a player, but I think all players are different. Different players and different people and I don't like people comparing me.”

Yesterday, after her quarterfinals win, I asked her during a food break about what she said to me earlier—that you only get the attention if you win.

She said, “Now, it’s happening, you see!”

Last night, my friend Goldburn took objection with my opinion that last night’s loss was one of Serena’s worst.

Before the last night's match, Justine Henin's coach Carlos Rodriguez said he wanted Henin pressuring Serena.

She did, and it worked: In the match, Henin converted 11 for 14 net chances.

“If I'm too far from my baseline, if I don't move forward, I have no chance to win this kind of match,” said Henin last night.

“[Serena] loves to have the control of the rallies,” said Henin. “She loves to be in the court. She doesn't like to be under pressure, especially on the forehand side…The key was to be really aggressive on the return. I think today she was feeling I was there on the return, and that was really important, too.”

When Henin beat Serena at the French Open this year no one gave Henin credit since that's her preferred surface (and Serena's least favorite). When Henin beat Serena at Wimbledon no one gave Henin credit because Serena had a leg injury and a hand injury. Last night, there wasn't much to say.

"There's nothing to say about my win today," said Henin. "I was playing good. She's at home. She expected a lot of things here. She had a lot of motivation, like I had. So that gives me a lot of satisfaction."