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Henin: Superb, but is she having fun?

Belgian still has steely drive as she goes for fourth title

By Chris Bowers, Special to TennisReporters.net

FROM ROLAND GARROS – The Belgian television station VRT recently raided its archive to find footage of Justine Henin winning the French Open girls’ singles title 10 years ago this week. Not only had it got footage of the diminutive 15-year-old winning on Court 1 – and throwing her arms in the air with the exact same body-language that she uses for today’s triumphs – but they had an interview with Henin about her hopes for the future.

Cynthia Lum/WireImage.com

Is tennis a labor or a labor of love for Justine Henin?

Some things are different today. Though she had abandoned the studious image that had accompanied her in her early junior days of short dark hair and John-Lennon-like round glasses, she still looked very boyish. The interview was conducted by a well-respected sports journalist, Inge van Meenzel, who is here at Roland Garros 10 years later interviewing the now No. 1 and queen of clay. On seeing the interview again, Henin apparently told van Meenzel that she was horrified by her haircut, which was still short but had the blond highlights that became her trademark for a few years.

Everyone has photos in their drawers that bring out horrified cries of “Did I really look like that?” But the greater revelation was the interview Henin gave. Of course she expressed the hope that she would be one day the full champion, but she also talked avidly about how her education was very important to her, and that she had to study for her exams. The glasses may have gone, but the very studious and serious little girl had not.

And in many ways she is still around. Henin was quite superb in demolishing the leading woman player based on this year’s results, Jelena Jankovic, 6-2, 6-2 in Thursday’s semifinal, but apart from the muted jubilation at the end, her face still betrays signs of the determined junior who very nearly beat the then No. 2 Lindsay Davenport in her first main draw Grand Slam campaign in 1999.

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