Former world No. 1 Justine Henin said she is probably six months away from recapturing her best form, as she prepares for her second Antipodean comeback in as many years.
The seven-times Grand Slam winner took almost two years off from tennis to grapple with her personal life before coming back at this year’s Australian Open in January, amazingly reaching the final, where she was beaten by Serena Williams in three sets.
Just under 12 months on and this time Henin is preparing to return from a serious elbow injury that threatened to end her career for good.
PHOTO: AFP
The 28-year-old Belgian has not played competitively since injuring her right elbow in her fourth-round loss to countrywoman Kim Clijsters at Wimbledon in June.
Now ranked 12th in the world, Henin will take her first steps in her latest return at the mixed teams Hopman Cup, starting in Perth on Saturday, ahead of the Australian Open in Melbourne.
Speaking in Perth yesterday, Henin said she was a long way short of the fitness she needed to consistently win tournaments again.
Although she has not won a Grand Slam title since 2007 and does not expect to ever again reach the heights of that year, when she won both the French and US Opens, Henin believes she is still capable of adding to her tally, and would not totally rule herself out of contention in Melbourne.
“No one is dominating women’s tennis, there are a lot of ups and downs, Serena is not going to be there so it is going to be wide open, but I don’t consider myself one of the biggest favorites,” Henin said of her Australian Open hopes. “The expectation is to give my best, stay healthy and win as many matches as I can.”
“First round is going to be important for me and then we’ll see, step by step. Kim [Clijsters] proved it and I proved it, that a comeback can be a very nice thing,” she said.
Henin said she believed the round robin format of the Hopman Cup, with a guarantee of six matches, including the mixed doubles, was a perfect way to ease back into tennis ahead of the first Grand Slam of the season.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care