Tonight, Justine Henin will take on Serena Williams in a bid to win the first Grand Slam singles title of her ‘second career’, and the eighth since she turned professional in 1999.
That Henin has managed to fight her way to the finals of both events she’s played so far is remarkable, not least because this time last year, tennis was the last thing on the Belgian’s mind.
This time last year, Henin embarked on a philanthropic mission to war-torn eastern Congo that evolved into a journey of self-discovery. As a UNICEF ambassador, she visited refugee camps and met child soldiers searching for their families.
"It was the strongest thing I have ever lived, this encounter with misery and difficulty but also with dignity - because these people remained so dignified,” Henin told AP earlier this week. “The children were still smiling. The women were so courageous.
"I don't think I ever experienced anything more important, anything that marked me like that in the past. And it allowed me to get my feet back on the ground, to confront very difficult, very complicated things.
“My mind was somewhere else. At that time, I could never think that a year later I would be in this final. It seems a little bit unreal 'cause, yeah, I was so far away from tennis a year ago, and I was living just an amazing other experience.”
Twelve months on, and preparing to play her first Grand Slam final since she won the 2007 US Open, Henin’s every waking moment is now inevitably dominated by tennis. The 27-year-old says she hasn’t slept well for days, although she denies that her insomnia is caused by nerves.
“When you have a lot of fatigue, especially at the end of a Grand Slam, you never sleep that well because it takes a lot of energy and you’re always still a little bit focused,” she says.
“That’s quite normal. I’m used to it. We’re all used to it.”
Focus, Henin believes, is going to be key in tonight’s final against Williams. “That’s going to make the difference in our match, to be able to be focused, really aggressive, intense and keep the pressure and be consistent,” she says.
“She is a really aggressive player … I say it in a positive way. She’s really focused. She’s really intense. We probably have a little bit the same qualities in that part of our game.
“I think it’s going to be really mental. The one who will want it more will win, probably.”
Henin’s focus kicked in the moment she clinched her 6-1 6-0 semi-final victory over Zheng Jie. The Monte Carlo resident says she hasn’t yet paused to reflect on the momentousness of reaching the final of the first major she’s contested for more than two years, nor on the ‘first career’ that delivered 41 singles titles.
“I’m very focused on this moment – very happy to be back here, of course. I realise that I’m back in a Grand Slam, so that’s an amazing feeling.
“I know where I come from. I know I did (come) a long way in the last few months. Taking my decision to stop two years ago and to come back, I think it’s been two of the best decisions I took in my life, so that’s a good thing. But except for that, it wasn’t time for me to think about anything else. I just enjoy the moment.”
Since she first stepped back onto court at the Brisbane International earlier this month, losing to Kim Clijsters in the final, Henin’s overriding philosophy has been to live for the moment. It’s a refreshing change of perspective for the Australian Open 2004 champion.
“Well, it was everything for me before. It’s not the only thing in my life right now. It’s my job. It’s my passion. It was the best I could do to come back, but I know it’s (just) going to be a tennis match.
“Of course it’s an opportunity, and I see it as something great. But I know also it’s not my whole life. If I can get another Grand Slam title I will take it, of course, as a bonus, and I want it. But I enjoy the moment, because I feel happier than in the past. So that changes a lot of things.”
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