Henin sets lofty goals
HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. – The moment Justine Henin realized her tennis career wasn’t finished came in June, when the Belgian watched Roger Federer finally hoist the French Open trophy, the one Grand Slam title he was missing.
His triumph reignited a passion that had been dormant inside her.
In an interview with The Associated Press at her central Florida training site Saturday, Henin said she wouldn’t be returning to tennis if she didn’t believe she could win Wimbledon and complete her own career grand slam – as soon as next year.
“I started to say, ‘Well, I missed Wimbledon,’” Henin told the AP. “That moment was something, I don’t know, something came over me. It’s a dream. I don’t know if it will come true, but I like to dream. I dreamt about it a lot.”
Her return to tennis has come as fast as her departure.
Henin rocked the tennis world by suddenly, stunningly walking away in May 2008, becoming the first woman to retire while ranked No. 1.
Henin said she stopped playing because she needed to realize she could do more than just play tennis. She also said she was exhausted and didn’t enjoy the sport, which had consumed her life for as long as she could remember.
