Former world number one Justine Henin is set to begin her highly-anticipated tennis comeback this week in Brisbane, Australia.
Henin, a seven-time major champion, will face second seed Nadia Petrova in the first round of the Brisbane International.
The Brisbane International, which is a joint Sony Ericsson WTA Tour and ATP World Tour event, starts the 2010 tennis season Down Under.
Because Justine Henin is returning to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour with a zero ranking after nearly two years in retirement, Henin will rely on wildcards to enter tournaments until her ranking rises.
“The draw will be interesting in the next few weeks [as a wildcard], but that’s what’s exciting about sport,” Henin said this week in comments reported by the Australian press. “These matches will be good preparation for me. Everything will be a bonus for me in the next few weeks.”
Henin and Petrova have a long history of playing each other, although Henin leads their head-to-head record 11-2. They played each other only weeks ago in an exhibition in Cairo, Egypt, which Henin won 7-6, 6-2.
Also in the draw in Brisbane is 2009 US Open champion Kim Clijsters. Clijsters will play Tathiana Garbin in her opening match and could only play Henin in the final.
I am a great admirer of Justine Henin. Nadia will be a good first round test for her. I hope she wins again this one like she did in Egypt. It will be a good confidence booster.
Allez Justine!
I am looking forward to see Juju in action again. Her record against Nadia speaks for itself although Petrova is a very good player.
I have never been a big Justine Henin Fan because she is a bit of a cheat. However, the girl has got mad game and I have always respected that. Conversely, I must say, I have lost some respect for her and I find myself hoping she is unsuccessful in her return to the game. I don’t like the feeling but it’s there. She didn’t leave the game to start a family or because of injury. She just gave up, quit. She basically said I don’t need this crap anymore, I’m out. Fans be damned. Now she is back and everyone is treating it as if it were the Second Coming. Folks on this blog and several others frequently question other players injuries and commitment to the game. However, no one wants to admit or mention how uneasy they really feel about her return or better yet how she left the game.
Lisa,
Henin did leave because of injuries, because her body was shot. She finally had her knee operated on last year because it had been a bother throughout her career. She also had shoulder problems. It took an awful lot of mental and physical strength to hit against the “big women” given her small size. She did not just “give up.” Although Clijsters wanted to start a family, she also left because she was tired of the injury factor or just plain wear and tear on her body. As far as being a cheat; I only remember one incident where there was a possible problem at Roland Garros 2003. But is it cheating when a player sees a ball hit the line, but called out, and doesn’t give the point to the other player? There are degrees in tennis because of its past gentile nature. The ultimate responsibility relies on what the umpire calls and sees. Otherwise, players would also be giving away points based on what they see, not the umpire.