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It’s a scary proposition but after the most dominant season from a women’s tennis player in 18 years, Justine Henin believes she can get better.
On the court, it’s pretty hard to see how.
The Belgian compiled a remarkable 2007, a 63-4 win-loss record giving her the best winning ratio since Steffi Graf in 1989.
There were two grand slams (the US and French Opens) from the three she contested; ten from 14 tournament wins and more than $US5 million in prize money – a first on the women’s tour.
Off the court it’s another story.
Henin skipped the 2007 Australian season to manage some “personal issues” – namely a divorce and some serious bridge building with estranged family members.
“I can say it has been the best season of my career but it has probably been the most difficult year of my life so you have to manage that all the time,” said Henin, who has a first round bye at the Sydney International.
“I just tried to be myself and slowly but surely I was feeling better and better last year and I could feel it.
“It brought me a lot of good results. It doesn’t mean that because it was a year ago that everything will be fine for me this year. There are no rules. You just give your best all the time and it depends on a lot of things.”
The separation between her personal and tennis life couldn’t have been more acute but Henin insists she didn’t use the problems of one to fuel the success in the other.
And she feels continued improvement will come the way it should, through hard work.
“I will still try to improve, tactically and technically I worked pretty hard in December – I can always get better,” she said.
“I believe we don’t have limits.”
After missing Australia last year and pulling out of the Australian Open final in 2006 with a stomach complaint, Henin is keen to make up lost ground.
“I wasn’t here last year for the reasons we all know and two years ago when I left Melbourne I was pretty sad,” she said.
“I wasn’t healthy at that time, my stomach was bothering me a lot, so it’s quite emotional for me to be back in Australia.
Unlike many of her contemporaries she also places the Olympic Games high on her agenda, saying she will adapt her schedule so she is fit and ready to play in Beijing.
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