2007 French Open winner Justine Henin Inspired by Roger Federer
In 2007, Justine Henin announced that she’s to leave tennis forever to begin another chapter. It was not until Roger Federer won the title at Roland Garros did Henin’s decision took for another turn.
Consequently, she made a successful comeback in the French Open when she won the first round match against Tsevtana Pironkova, 6-4, 6-3. This was Henin’s first match since she claimed her third consecutive title win in the 2007 French Open.
Federer’s win in one of the Grand Slam bids inspired the 27-year old player to make a comeback. Gaining victory over a title that has eluded Federer before sparked Henin’s interest into getting back on the court.
In an interview recently held at the French Open, Henin explained how Roger Federer’s victory during the French Open made her realize that she is missing Wimbledon.
Prior to Henin’s return, she already gained 41 titles including one Australian Open title, two US Opens victory and four French Open titles. Henin only needs a Wimbledon championship to complete her track record.
During her nearly 2-year hiatus, Hennin became an UNICEF ambassador, a television host in Belgium and she even hosted a music show. Henin was able to travel the world. Previously, Henin became the No. 1 in the world for 117 weeks.
She quit tennis back in May 2008. This came after playing for her most successful season yet. In 2007, Hennin was able to push past 14 title events and claimed victory in 10 of them. This included US Open and Roland Garros tittles.
She did not participate in the 2007 Australian Open due to marital issues. Henin ended her marriage with Pierre-Yves Hardenne in the same year. At the same time, she focused on rebuilding her connection with her estranged father along with her two brothers and sister. Henin lost her mother to cancer at the age of 12.
Comeback
The crowd at the Court Philippe Chartier applauded Henin as she made her way to the court during her first round match. Belgian spectators expressed their support to Henin by waving their nation’s flag. The crowd during Henin’s first round match all cheered “Allez Juju” following her victory against the 81st-ranked Bulgarian.
The Belgian seed currently recorded her 37th consecutive winning set at the Roland Garros. This is considered the longest streak of wins since tennis’s shift as a professional sport back in 1968. It’s also a record following Helen Wills Moody’s 40 consecutive series of wins. It was in 2005 when the Belgian player experienced her last dropped set. The match was with Svetlana Kuznetsova, the current French Open defending champion.
Henin expressed that she decided to leave tennis back in 2008 to see whether she could live without tennis far away from her usual life on the court. Henin further explained that she decided to come back once she was able to gain that trust and self confidence.
But the fairy tail has come to an end by Samantha Stosur who will be facing Serena Williams in the quarterfinals.
Henin intended to continue adding more to her track record and joined the line of contenders for the French open with a record of 21 consecutive wins on the clay courts.
Her 21 winning streak is ranked as the third longest following Monica Seles’s 25 streak and Chris Evert’s 29 . Henin also added that her return in the French Open was very special and overwhelming. Henin was considered as one of the title contenders for this year’s French Open.
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