Federer and Henin capture crowns

Published March 23, 2004

INDIAN WELLS, March 22: World number one and top seed Roger Federer brushed aside ninth seed Tim Henman 6-3 6-3 to win the men's Pacific Life Open final on Sunday.

Swiss Federer was in fine form and Britain's Henman, who had enjoyed a good run to the final, found himself outgunned.

Earlier, top ranked Justine Henin-Hardenne beat Lindsay Davenport 6-1 6-4 to win the women's final. The Belgian overpowered her much taller opponent, crunching her one-handed backhand to all angles of the court and blitzing her opponent's second serves.

"I love the finals," said Henin-Hardenne, who nailed 29 winners to only 17 from Davenport. "That's what I love in tennis - the competition and the tension. It helps me to be 100 percent."

Davenport broke the Belgian at the beginning of the second set, but Henin-Hardenne surged back to 3-3 when Davenport missed a forehand approach shot. The American served into the mid-day sun trailing 4-5 and in a spirited finale, her opponent needed five match points to close it out.

Davenport whipped in three service winners and a successful volley to fight off the first four, but then the Belgian clubbed a forehand down the line to take the contest and her fourth title of the year.

Finals results

Men's singles: Roger Federer (Switzerland) bt Tim Henman (Britain) 6-3 6-3

Women's singles: Justine Henin-Hardenne (Belgium) bt Lindsay Davenport (U.S.) 6-1 6-4. -Reuters

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