Standing atop the battered earth of Roland Garros' main court, another trophy in her hand, Justine Henin realized that this title was so much sweeter than the rest.
Henin, the world's No. 1 player, won her fourth French Open title, her third in a row. Again, she won in straight sets, this time against Serbia's Ana Ivanovic, 6-1, 6-2. But never before have the postmatch moments unfolded the way they did on Saturday.
When Henin looked into the crowd, she saw more than just her coach, Carlos Rodriguez, and his family. For the first time in seven years, her brothers and sister were there, smiling at her.
"I looked at them, and just looking at each other, we understood a lot of things," Henin said after her match, adding that this victory was more emotional than the others because she could finally share it with her family.
Henin, who turned 25 last week, had been estranged from her family since 1999. For reasons they cannot explain, she drifted further and further apart from them as her tennis career progressed. But two months ago, after so many years apart, she got in touch with them.
Henin, an extremely private person, did not want to expound on that reconciliation with her father, Jose, her brothers David and Thomas, and her sister, Sarah. But David Henin, at 34 the oldest sibling, told the story.
In April, he had a serious car accident and was in a coma for two days. After hearing the news through Sarah, Henin traveled to Belgium to be by his side. It caused an avalanche of pent-up emotions, and the Henins realized that they needed to rebuild the family bond.
"It was something horrible that turned into something good," said David Henin, a tavern owner, who had not spoken to his sister in seven years.
Since then, there have been daily phone calls and frequent visits between Henin and her family. Their father did not come to Roland Garros because it was too emotional, Henin's brothers said.
Still, Henin knew her father was with her on Saturday, watching the match on television in Belgium. She said she felt her mother, who died of cancer when Henin was 12, watching and protecting her, too. When addressing the crowd, Henin dedicated the victory to the members of her family and said that she had missed them.
"It's been a huge step in my life in the last few months," she said later. "I was glad I could give them this victory because everyone suffered a lot from the situation in the last few years. And today, finally, we are united in this joy, and we can share this moment."
Coming into the French Open, Henin had been dealing with a difficult year. She had skipped the Australian Open after separating from her husband. Then, in a swing of emotions, she regained contact with her family. She thought that might hinder her performance. But it seemed only to improve it.
Since the beginning of the year, Rodriguez said he had seen a drastic change in Henin. She was no longer the loner on the tour.
Over the two weeks of the French Open, she has gone to dinner with friends, shopped and spent time with her family.
After the final, Henin hugged her brothers and cradled her six-week-old niece. It was the perfect ending to a perfect two weeks.
"I've been a little bit surprised, because it's been hard for me, everything I lived in the last few months, ups and downs, good things, bad things," she said. "And then I realized that it's life. Life is ups and downs, and you have to accept it."
Tiger Woods on Sunday said that while his surgically repaired back might never be 10 out of 10 again, that would not stop him from being healthy and ready to go when the PGA Tour restarts. The 44-year-old said that he has been able to use the down time during the COVID-19 pandemic to get himself in shape for an expected condensed golf season. “It is going to be interesting,” Woods said at a four-man charity golf tournament in Florida. “I am used to trying to peak for majors in April, May, June and July, forever. Now this has changed everything. It
ON THE MOON: After achieving an against-the-odds restart, Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys says crowds should return to the stands by July 1 Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL) has battled player scandals, top-level resignations and dire financial revelations during the COVID-19 shutdown, but against the odds, it returns this week to bring relief to team owners and sports-starved fans. The fledgling season had seen two rounds of matches when it was suspended on March 24 and is to have a different feel when it resumes with the Brisbane Broncos hosting the Parramatta Eels behind closed doors tomorrow. An “NRL island” off the Queensland coast, where all 16 teams would be kept in isolation, had been considered, but Australia’s success in containing the coronavirus has instead
Free agent infielder Jung-ho Kang, who played four of the past five years for the Pittsburgh Pirates, on Monday received a one-year suspension from the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) in connection with three past arrests on suspicion of drunk driving. The KBO also demanded that Kang, 33, perform 300 hours of community service. Both punishments would begin if and when he signs a contract with a Korean team. After the ruling was announced, Kang said in a statement that he is working to become a better person. “Over time, I came to realize just how important baseball is to me,” Kang said. “I took
“Road Runner” Alphonso Davies lived up to his nickname with another lightning sprint on Saturday as Bayern Munich opened a 10-point lead in the Bundesliga. Having defeated second-placed Borussia Dortmund 1-0 away in midweek, Bayern enjoyed a 5-0 romp over Fortuna Duesseldorf. Defender Mathias Joergensen scored an early own-goal before Benjamin Pavard, Robert Lewandowski (2) and Davies scored for Bayern. With five games remaining, the defending champions, who have won their past eight league games, are comfortably on course for an eighth straight league title. Davies scored the best goal of the game when the fleet-footed defender pressed Duesseldorf into making a mistake, barged
RSS