Justine Henin had barely finished off her first win since coming out of retirement when talk of her winning an eighth Grand Slam singles title began in earnest yesterday.
Henin beat second-seeded Nadia Petrova of Russia 7-5, 7-5 in the first round of the Brisbane International, her first official tour match since announcing her comeback in September.
Petrova said Henin was a better, more aggressive player than she was when she quit the tour in May 2008 and had no doubt the 27-year-old Belgian could win another Grand Slam title.
PHOTO: EPA
“That’s why she’s back. She’s hungry to win Wimbledon,” Petrova said before Henin attended her first post-match news conference in 20 months. “The changes she’s done in her game is actually leading toward that.”
Henin spent a combined 117 weeks at No. 1 in the rankings, winning seven majors, an Olympic gold medal and 41 WTA titles.
“I feel better today than when I retired, that’s for sure,” Henin said. “Better emotionally, mentally, better with myself — and that makes a big difference that I will enjoy being on the tour again.”
Ana Ivanovic won her first match since September, while No. 4 Daniela Hantuchova and No. 6 Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada also advanced. No. 5 Alisa Kleybanova lost to fellow Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Third-seeded Ivanovic, the 2008 French Open champion, won the last three games to finish off a 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 win over Australian Jelena Dokic 7-5, 1-6, 6-3.
Top-seeded Andy Roddick beat Australia’s Peter Luczak 7-6 (5), 6-2 in a night match, his first since withdrawing at Shanghai with a knee injury in October.
Defending men’s champion Radek Stepanek won in straight sets, and Richard Gasquet beat Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in his first match since the Court of Arbitration for Sport last month rejected an appeal from the World Anti-Doping Agency against the Frenchman being cleared of wrongdoing after traces of cocaine were discovered in a March drug test.
■HOPMAN CUP
AP, PERTH,AUSTRALIA
Britain’s Andy Murray beat Andrey Golubev 6-2, 6-2 yesterday to level the Hopman Cup match with Kazakhstan at 1-1.
Earlier, Yaroslava Shvedova beat 15-year-old Laura Robson 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 to give Kazakhstan a 1-0 lead.
Murray, who won when Golubev double-faulted on match point, and Robson were to play Shvedova and Golubev in mixed doubles to decide the opening match for both teams at the eight-country tournament being played indoors at the Burswood Dome.
In the earlier match, Igor Andreev and Elena Dementieva won the deciding mixed doubles to give Russia a 2-1 victory over Germany.
Andreev and Dementieva beat Germany’s Sabine Lisicki and Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, 7-6 (7).
Andreev beat Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-3 to level the match after Lisicki beat Dementieva 6-4, 6-1 to give Germany an early 1-0 lead.
The US takes on Australia and Spain plays Romania today.
■ASB CLASSIC
AP, AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
Belgium’s Yanina Wickmayer made a winning return to the WTA Tour yesterday after her ban for anti-doping violations was lifted, beating Germany’s Julia Goerges 6-3, 7-5 in the first round of the ASB Classic.
Wickmayer entered the Auckland tournament on a wild card and is the No. 3 seed.
Top-seeded Flavia Pennetta of Italy started the season with a 6-2, 6-4 win over US veteran Jill Craybas.
Former world No. 4 Kimiko Date Krumm of Japan, who is playing in Auckland as a wild card, beat former No. 5 Anna Chakvetadze of Russia 6-1, 6-2.
Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia, who was sidelined for the second half of 2009 with a rib injury and is unseeded on her ranking of 28, beat Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania 6-0, 6-3.
Taiwan’s top women’s badminton doubles duo, Hsieh Pei-shan (謝沛珊) and Hung En-tzu (洪恩慈), achieved a straight-sets victory over Japan’s Kaho Osawa and Mayui Tanabe at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 300 Macau Open on Sunday. The Taiwanese pair won the final 21-18, 21-12, marking the duo’s second title this year after their win at the BWF Super 300 Taipei Open in May. The match on Sunday was their first encounter with the Japanese duo, ranked No. 63 in the world. Hsieh and Hung, ranked No. 12, began the opening game well. Hung, who plays left-handed, performed strongly at both the net and the
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Jobe Bellingham on Tuesday admitted to having “anxieties” on following in brother Jude’s footsteps after joining Borussia Dortmund in the summer. Jobe Bellingham, 19, is two years younger than Jude Bellingham, who joined Real Madrid in 2023 after three years at Dortmund. A centerpiece of the England national team, Jude Bellingham has emerged as one of the best players in the world in recent seasons. The younger Jobe Bellingham joined Dortmund in June from Sunderland after their promotion to the English Premier League. He admitted he understood what the perception would be ahead of the move to Germany. “It’s something you do think about.
Before Tuesday’s 7-2 win at the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy suggested “most people couldn’t tell you five players on our team.” A look at the standings would indicate more Brewers players soon will be recognized by more fans. After all, it is difficult to overlook a team that not only continues to extend their lead in the National League Central, but also boasts the best record in the majors. “What we’re doing in here right now is special,” right-handed pitcher Freddy Peralta said after allowing only four hits and one run in five innings, while setting a career high with
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