After just four months and six events into the second phase of her career, Justine Henin is back in the winner’s circle. Her command of the claycourts in Stuttgart contributed to her first title in more than two years, and the win positions her as the firm favourite heading into the year’s second major at Roland Garros.
Having also reached the Australian Open and Brisbane International finals and the semifinals at Miami, the Belgian has already cracked the Top 20 and sits in third place on the WTA Tour’s ‘Race to the Sony Ericsson Championships’ rankings. Her comeback could not have progressed much better.
Was this ever in doubt? It would actually have been far more surprising if a player of Henin’s calibre could not return to tennis and experience success, even after a 19-month hiatus from competition. In her physical prime at age 27, armed with a wealth of big-match experience, mentally fresh after her time off and hugely motivated, Henin was perfectly placed to make an assault on the Tour she dominated prior to her retirement in May 2008.
Her compatriot Kim Clijsters had proven a few months before that a successful return was possible, capturing the US Open just three events into her comeback from a two-year break.
When Henin announced her decision to return, many women’s tennis fans breathed a huge sigh of relief. Her sublime brand of all-court tennis had been sorely missed from the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, which had suffered criticisms throughout 2009 relating to a perceived lack of mental toughness in players, a flawed ranking system and a dearth of quality big-match tennis.
Her comeback coincided with Clijsters’, as well as Maria Sharapova’s climb back from a long-term shoulder injury. Collectively, this served as a giant boost for the Tour, and interest in women’s tennis going into the 2010 season was as high as it had been in years.
Henin was quick to remind the world why she was a former World No. 1 and seven-time Grand Slam champion. Her fantastic form in Australia exhibited her shotmaking flair and complete skills and brought out the best in her opponents. Her thrilling battle against Clijsters in the Brisbane final and her compelling matches against Elena Dementieva and Serena Williams in Melbourne will be remembered for years to come.
After playing her first four events on hardcourt, Henin has moved to her favoured clay and is reaping the benefits. Despite an upset loss in the first round of the Madrid event, she has no points to defend and seems destined to continue her rapid rise to the summit of the sport. Henin is almost peerless on clay and has no realistic challenger leading into Roland Garros. Provided she is healthy, the French title is hers to lose.
But Henin did not return to tennis to win French Opens – she already has four. She admitted that watching Roger Federer claim the Roland Garros title in 2009 to complete his set of major titles was the catalyst for her decision to begin a second career. She has her sights set on Wimbledon. Yet despite this steely focus and her fantastic results so far, it is not a perfect picture. There are some glitches in the “new and improved” version of Justine that the Belgian assured we would see upon her return, and the one that she believes will give her the best chance of claiming victory on the lush lawns of the All England Club.
Henin has returned obsessed with the notion of playing attacking, aggressive tennis at all costs. An admirable and brave approach, it has also proven reckless and ineffective at times. Her famed consistency no longer seems to feature as significantly. While she claims that a beefed-up game will allow her to combat the power of the Williams sisters and other big hitters on grass, she has moved away from the variety and artistry that proved so successful in the first phase of her career. Her re-tooled serve – designed to launch her further into the court to gain power – has been somewhat of a liability, leading to a poor first-serve percentage and constant pressure on her second delivery.
Her insistence on trying to out-hit Williams in the pair’s absorbing Australian Open final proved her downfall. Although she “got hot” midway through the second set – hitting winners off almost every shot and enjoying a run of 15 straight points to win the second set and move ahead in the third – her style of play was not sustainable. Williams, who lives for slugfests from the baseline, rediscovered her form after Henin’s onslaught and raced away with the match as the Belgian rapidly faded.
There was really no need for Henin to adopt these tactics. She possessed a good record against the World No. 1, had gained the upper hand in their rivalry before her retirement, and was one of the few players that could consistently trouble her. Previously, Henin employed clever tactics in their matches that nullified the American’s imposing brand of baseline power. These included mixing up the serve, playing heavily top-spun groundstrokes deep and down the middle of the court into Williams’ body, and employing slices, drop shots and angles to keep her off-balance. However, she turned her back on this approach in January and paid the price. It doesn’t bode well for Wimbledon should she face Williams again.
Another slightly worrying sign for Henin has been her performances in big matches. Lauded for her mental toughness, she is a collective 0-3 against chief rivals Clijsters and Williams in 2010. What’s more, she blew commanding positions in all of those contests. Against Clijsters in the Brisbane final, Williams in Melbourne and Clijsters again in the Miami semifinals, Henin could not close out the match. This will make it even harder to claim the Wimbledon crown. If, hypothetically, she was to find herself in a winning position in the final – which could easily be against a Williams sister or Clijsters – both the external and self-induced pressure of trying to complete her set of major titles against such a tough opponent could prove suffocating.
However, it is not all doom and gloom for the Belgian. Her comeback has been a pleasure to watch, and she has performed exceptionally given her extended break from the sport. Her form and consistency appeared to be improving in Stuttgart – the magnificent backhand was flowing and her serve was the most solid and damaging as it has been all year. A successful claycourt campaign could actually serve to “groove” her in the lead up to Wimbledon campaign and imbue her with the confidence necessary for an assault on the game’s most prestigious trophy. And, as she has demonstrated previously, there are few players better at overcoming adversity and lapses in confidence than the Belgian.
The next few of months of her season promise to be compelling.
Matt Trollope is a freelance journalist based in Melbourne, Australia. He has covered the past three Australian Opens for the tournament’s official website and regularly contributes to the English-language homepage of www.ubitennis.com.
Very good article. However, I do not think it is fair to say that with Henin’s departure the Tour suffered as a result. There were some very good compelling matches that happened during her absence, just as there were some really bad *** moments while she was on top of the Tour. Every style of tennis has its place and I find it a bit insulting that all other styles are left in the dog pile and only Henin’s tennis can be called beautiful etc. As to her progress since her return, it is instructive that the tennis that is now being played in the WTA, i.e. dog pile tennis, is the one that Henin has now adopted in an effort to win Wimbledon. Good luck to her on that one. Henin’s game was never built like Serena’s and Venus’ game. It was built to construct points and win from all areas of the court. Serena, though she is never given credit, is an all court player though with much more power than Henin.
As to the assertion that Henin’s success has not been as great as all who thought it would be, while I am not a fan of hers, I have to say that for someone who has been off the Tour for approximately 18 months, her comeback has been a success. She has made the quarters, semis and finals of some of the major events and she has won a premier tournament. We cannot hope to see the same results that Clijsters has in her comeback. Clijsters came back on her favourite surface at a time in the season when most players were suffering from some form of injury or the other. Her comeback was more opportunistic in my view, rather than successful. Taking nothing away from her, she did well and that is all that matters. The true tale of a comeback will be seen over the long haul. Almost 6-8 months into the comebacks of the Belgians we have seen some wonderful matches and some shake your head moments. The inability to close out matches by both players is as a result of the lack of mentality needed to do this. We have seen it this season in Federer, Serena, Venus etc. All the greats go through this. Henin’s time will come.
yep, this is a very fair assessment. there are things we believe that if she can just redo her 2007 form, she didn’t have to change her approach. quite true. but that is, if that is possible. i am guessing that 2008 was way off that benchmark and that’s what justine remembered too.
i have to believe or have faith in her and carlos that the aggression is what it takes. and in a way, i do think so. imagine her natural inclination was not to be aggressive, she will only be when she is super confident, but that doesn’t come in every match. so if making this aggressive approach more of a second nature to her game, it should help her to be in more control even when she is not at her tip-top form. and if she is fit, this approach can prove to be deadly. i am guessing this is trying to make her ‘more brave’, adn well sometimes it does backfire to be fearful to be brave. anyway that’s what i analyse.
Nice article. I just love watching Justine play, and although frustrated at times with how she insists on changing her style somewhat, I am always intrigued. There is no one else like her in tennis. She adds a real spark with her comeback. The combination of her small stature, yet power, grace, and wonderful footwork…. how awesome! People love to talk about that beautiful backhand, but when she gets in perfect position to hit her forehand, she seems unstoppable -what a weapon! Keep it up, Justine! We are enjoying you.
I think Justine’s new approach to the game is reasonable although with the old rivals she should stick to her old style of play because that worked so well in the past. Carlos is just being realistic when he encourages her to play more aggressively, as she will be getting older she will nee to learn to manage her energy levels and playing fast aggressive tennis can help her do that. As every new strategy that needs testing and testing always includes some pitfalls. I think her new strategy is starting to work though, she was fantastic in Stuttgart. I think she did not totally threw away the old strategy of less aggressive play, especially against Jankovic and Goerges where she started on defense and gradually spiced it up to their great frustration.
Her comeback has been a pleasure to watch, it’s only now I realise how much did tennis missed her. Finally someone with fine clever style of play not just baseline-to-baseline bashing accompanied by loud annoying shrieks.
I wonder if some fans think Justine maybe looks a little too bulked up right now. She has put on more muscle but I am wondering what it might do to her movement. Perhaps a word on this with Jankovic? I quite agree that playing more aggressively is a good route for her, especially as a player ages. But working this into her normal style of play may take some time. I would rather use the word “opportunistic” rather than “being aggressive” because the latter implies she’s moving into serve and volley mode, rather than just seizing every good moment and doing something good with it. And I don’t think she should overreact to the presence of the big hitting girls – they have always been there and JH has handled them before. Don’t turn your house upside down to accommodate them. Just play like you did before, and maybe tweak the volume up a bit on that.
I wonder how much Clisters and Henin were paid to return to the sport which indeed hit the doldrums
As for Henin’s serve – I wish the female athletes would have a biomechanics expert teach them to throw a ball – the serve will come that much easier to them including Henin and Mauresmo.
As for trying to outhit the William’s sisters- Justine brains and touch and athleticism will win over braun – so get back to what you do best!
JES and see you in Paris!
I think Justine’s new approach to the game is reasonable although with the old rivals she should stick to her old style of play because that worked so well in the past. Carlos is just being realistic when he encourages her to play more aggressively, as she will be getting older she will nee to learn to manage her energy levels and playing fast aggressive tennis can help her do that. As every new strategy that needs testing and testing always includes some pitfalls. I think her new strategy is starting to work though, she was fantastic in Stuttgart. I think she did not totally threw away the old strategy of less aggressive play, especially against Jankovic and Goerges where she started on defense and gradually spiced it up to their great frustration.
Her comeback has been a pleasure to watch, it’s only now I realise how much did tennis missed her. Finally someone with fine clever style of play not just baseline-to-baseline bashing accompanied by loud annoying shrieks.
To Bruce, who copied my comment word for word, I take it you wholeheartedly agree with me :-P
I am so thrilled that Justine Henin is back. I love tennis and it broke my heart when she announced her retirement in the prime of her career. I wish her every success and that Wimbledon will be hers this year. She deserves it. All the best to one of the greatest women’s tennis champions ever.