No more bedtime chocolates, but Henin is happy
EASTBOURNE, England: Justine Henin's nutritionist has banned her bedtime chocolates but the world No 1 is feeling calm and happy after a period of personal upheaval.
With a new physical coach and a new attitude, a relaxed Henin has arrived in Eastbourne to hone her preparations on grass for another assault on the Wimbledon title next week.
"I feel very fresh, probably more fresh than I was last year," said the Belgian who lost to Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo in last year's Wimbledon final.
Henin, who divorced husband Pierre-Yves Hardin late last year, took just two days off after winning her fourth French Open title on June 9.
Wimbledon remains the only grand slam crown to elude her. She won the 2003 US Open and the 2004 Australian Open, though she skipped this year's Melbourne tournament because of her personal problems and pulled out of last year's final with a stomach illness.
A legacy of that stomach problem has been an order from her nutritionist. "I can't eat sugar any more before going to bed," Henin, pulling a face, told reporters on Monday.
"So my Belgian chocolate," she sighed, "I miss that a lot."
Henin's support team includes a new physical coach.
"We work a lot on the rhythm and he is also a physio so he knows my body pretty well," she explained.
Her experiences of recent months, which include reconciliation with her estranged family, have made her philosophical.
"It was tough at the beginning of the year for me, it was a lot of things to deal with. In January I wasn't an athlete, I was just a woman at that time and I just tried to move forward and tried to find my way.
"I don't think all the time as a player, I think as a person. It is very important for me to know what I want as a person. If that can help my tennis that is probably a good thing."
The top seeds in Eastbourne have first-round byes and Henin has two days of practice before she starts her tournament on Wednesday.
Was she desperate to win Wimbledon to complete her set of grand slam events, she was asked.
"That would be a great achievement but would that make me more happy - I am not quite sure," Henin replied.
"Professionally it would be something amazing especially when I remember that little girl who wanted to become a tennis player. If I win, if I don't, another life is going to start in a few years, the real life."
Agencies
(China Daily 06/20/2007 page23)
