Dubai: Justine Henin has never lost a match in Dubai, and now she's looking forward to claiming title number five when the 2008 Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships gets under way next month.

The world number one enjoyed the most successful season of her career in 2007 in what was a period of emotional turmoil.

First came the separation from her husband that led to her missing the Australian Open. Then came the reunification with members of her family after a long period of isolation.

The petite Belgian claimed a tour-leading 10 titles last year, making her the first player in a decade to win 10 or more singles titles in one year.

Titles meant little to her in a year that began with despair but ended in triumph.

After coming to the realisation that to achieve her full potential she had to devote her attention entirely to her profession, something that years before had led to a split from her family, the next stage in her emotional roller-coaster ride came in bizarre circumstances.

In March she went to see a specialist in Liege about her asthma, at the same hospital her mother, Françoise, had died of cancer in 1995.

It was difficult for her to return there, but the hospital proved to be the location of a further dramatic milestone in her life.

While she was there she received a text message from her sister, Sarah, with whom she had stayed in touch, informing her that her brother had been admitted into that same hospital in a coma after being involved in a car accident.

Justine was there when David came out of his coma two days later, along with their father, Jose.

When Henin went on to win Roland Garros a few weeks later, where she had gone as a 10-year old and promised her dying mother that she would one day win the title, most of her family were there in the stands to witness her moment of triumph.

Henin will have a tough battle on her hands in a field that includes Serena Williams, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic and Maria Sharapova.

The 2008 Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, begins on February 25 with the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour tournament, and is followed by the ATP event on March 3.