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Justine Henin factbox
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-24 11:11

EARLY LIFE

Justine Henin factbox

* Born on June 1, 1982 in Liege, Belgium. She turned professional in 1999 and won her first WTA title in Antwerp.

* The 1.67 metre tall Henin, gifted with a breath-taking single handed backhand which John McEnroe rated the best in tennis, captured 41 singles titles, including seven grand slams during her career.

SOME FIRSTS

* Henin became first Belgian to reach a singles final at Wimbledon in 2001 where she was beaten by Venus Williams. She also went on to become the first Belgian to win a Grand Slam title when she overwhelmed compatriot Kim Clijsters to win the 2003 French Open.

GRAND SLAM WINS

* Overcame Clijsters to win her second Grand Slam title at the US Open in 2003 and then again the 2004 Australian Open final.

* Won the 2004 Athens Olympic gold despite being plagued by an energy-sapping viral illness.

* Won the French Open in 2005 and 2006, only the fifth woman to win back-to-back Roland Garros titles in the professional era.

* Reached the final of all four Grand Slam tournaments in 2006, becoming the first player to achieve such a feat and reach the final of the end-of-season Championships since Steffi Graf in 1993.

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* Secured the year-end No 1 spot on her way to winning her first WTA Championship in Madrid.

MARRIAGE BREAK-UP AND RETIREMENT

* Began 2007 by missing the Australian Open to deal with the breakdown of her four-year marriage to Pierre-Yves Hardenne but went on to win her third consecutive French Open in May with victory over Ana Ivanovic of Serbia.

* Won Grand Slam title No 7 with victory over Svetlana Kuznetsova for her second US Open trophy.

* Ended season by beating Maria Sharapova 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 in an epic final lasting three hours and 24 minutes to win her second consecutive WTA Championship.

* Started off the 2008 season with victory in Sydney but she was soundly beaten by Sharapova in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. After picking up her final title in Antwerp, she failed to advance past the quarterfinals of her last three tournaments.

* On May 14, 2008, still ranked No 1 in the world, Henin announced her retirement with immediate effect at a press conference. The timing of her retirement was unexpected since her favorite tournament, the French Open, was less than two weeks away and as the 2007 champion she was expected to defend her title.

Reuters