Justine Henin eyes elusive Wimbledon crown

London : There was one moment when I knew my life was going to change again," Justine Henin says intently as she remembers watching the men's singles final of the French Open this year.

Thirteen months before, in May 2008, Henin had retired from tennis as world No 1 at the age of 25, looking depleted as she spoke wearily of needing "to breathe again".

Henin is now less than two weeks away from returning to the suffocating grind of the women's tour but she lingers over the moment which sparked her unexpected comeback.

"I didn't watch the women at all in Paris," she says with a mildly dismissive wave, having won the French Open four times previously.

"I feel closer to players like Roger Federer. And of course Roger was trying to win the only grand slam he had never won. Part of me wanted him to win but, in another way, I knew it would give me trouble mentally if he did."

Henin laughs infectiously not the usual response from a woman who has faced down her demons and analysed those internal battles with the kind of tortured introspection which would entrance Jonny Wilkinson. But Henin is in markedly good humour at her tennis centre in Limelette, a sedate Belgian village half an hour from Brussels.

Strange feelings

"You know that little voice we all have in our heads?" she asks. "Mine was talking a lot that afternoon. It was telling me Roger winning the French was very special. But it also bothered me to see him win. It made me think how much I'd missed by not winning Wimbledon. It was a strange feeling but, not long after that, I had the courage to put on my cap and pick up my racket. I had not played any tennis for a year and my one friend, who saw me put on the cap, said, ‘Well, I know this girl pretty well and that can only mean one thing'."

Henin smiles when asked what might have happened if Federer had lost in Paris? "I think I would've found something else to allow me to return. I needed an excuse to play tennis again."

Henin resumes her career on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour when the Brisbane International begins on January 3 with that tournament and another in Sydney helping her prepare for the Australian Open.

"I've had some good feelings in Australia and I won there in 2004. Australia is a good place to start because all the players are looking for rhythm in a new year."

With two US Open titles alongside her French quartet, Henin has seven grand slam victories behind her and the form she showed in a couple of exhibitions in Belgium and Egypt this month has been encouraging. She beat both Flavia Pennetta and Nadia Petrova respectively ranked 12 and 20 in the world in straight sets.

The triumphant return of Kim Clijsters, Belgium's other great player of the decade, has deepened Henin's concentration. Clijsters, as relaxed as Henin is complex, completed a startling comeback in September by winning the US Open, her first grand slam tournament since rejoining the tour.

"We've never been in contact with each other," Henin says of their strained relationship. "But I admire what she did and it is a motivation for me. We have always pushed each other and of course it's a perfect story for the press. It's always built up between me and Kim but I respect her and I watched some of her matches at the US Open."

Henin is bent on similar success. "I hope I will also win a Grand Slam again but it's too early to make any conclusions because I haven't played an official match. It's important to go step by step and not look too far ahead. I just feel very positive playing tennis again."

She might be too controlled to appear exuberant, but Henin is driven by a vibrant desire to win Wimbledon.

"People forget that my first grand slam final was at Wimbledon when I was 19 [in 2001, when she lost to Venus Williams]. My grandfather died that day but he was happy because we spoke after I beat Jennifer Capriati in the semifinals. I was very close to him, because he was my mother's father."

Henin, who also lost the 2006 final at SW19 to Amlie Mauresmo, shrugs, just a little sadly.

"We all have a story. I know mine hasn't been easy all the time, but it was important for me to put tennis away and become a person who can look at my whole story and understand what happened."

Timeline

1982: Born in Liege, Belgium, June 1.

1987: Starts playing tennis.

1995: Mother Francoise dies of intestinal cancer.

1996: Attends tennis school in Mons where she meets her coach, Carlos Rodriguez. Wins 1996 Orange Bowl for under-14s and European Championships under-14s.

1997: Wins French Open juniors as a wildcard. Wins Belgian national championships.

1998: Wins ITF events in France, America and Israel.

1999: Turns professional. Wins her debut WTA Tour event in Antwerp as a wildcard. Leads Belgium to semifinals of Fed Cup. Reaches second round of French Open, her debut grand slam.

2000: Forced to withdraw from French Open with arm injury. Reaches fourth round at US Open. Breaks into world's top 50 for first time.

2001: Beats Venus Williams en route to her first Tier I semifinal at German Open. Takes Jennifer Capriati to third set in German Open before retiring with ankle injury. Becomes first player in 13 years to go into Australian Open with two straight tournament wins, in Gold Coast and Canberra. Reaches semi-finals of French Open and loses to compatriot Kim Clijsters despite leading by a set and a break.

July — Reaches her first grand slam final at Wimbledon but loses to Venus Williams.

2002: November — Marries Pierre-Yves Hardenne.

2003: Wins maiden grand slam after beating compatriot Clijsters in the French Open final at Roland Garros.

Beats Clijsters in the US Open final. Suffers dehydration following her brave semi-final win over Capriati. Becomes world number one for the first time.

2004: Wins the Australian Open at Melbourne Park, again against Clijsters.

Wins Olympic gold, beating Amelie Mauresmo in the final. Loses number one ranking after fourth-round US Open defeat.

2005 June: Thrashes Mary Pierce in the French Open final. Loses first-round match at Wimbledon to Greece's Eleni Daniilidou.

2006 July — Loses second Wimbledon final to Mauresmo.

May 2008 — Announces immediate retirement from tennis.