Henin finally wins over Belgian public with U.S. title

(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-09-11 04:56

BRUSSELS - World number one Justine Henin has finally stepped out of the shadow of fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters and won over her home public thanks to a seventh grand slam title and overcoming a marriage break-up along the way.

The 25-year-old player earned splash cover on the front page of every Belgian newspaper on Monday after she beat Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova without dropping a set in Saturday's final.

Newspapers from both sides of the country's linguistic divide lauded Henin, declaring her "the best tennis player in the world" and "the diamond that is the envy of the world".

Typically, Dutch-speaking newspapers had previously focused their attention on media-friendly Clijsters, born in their region, and largely shunned the reclusive petite player from the French-speaking part of Belgium.

In particular, they scorned her decision to move to Monaco, a tax haven for many sports stars.

Despite achieving a lot more success on the court than Clijsters, Henin had never been quite as popular with Belgian newspaper editors.

Clijsters, with just one grand slam title to her name, became something of a media darling -- remaining so, even after her retirement earlier this year -- with stories such as a broken engagement to Australian player Lleyton Hewitt and her eventual marriage to U.S. basketball player Brian Lynch last July.

The couple are currently expecting their first child, which also made national news.

WOBBLY START

Until now, Henin remained mainly in the wings and even at the time of her marriage break-up, kept herself out of the media eye, asking for privacy during such a difficult time.

But on Monday, as well as praising her tennis skills, even Dutch-language papers noted that Henin has become more approachable and started to allow her personality to shine through as well.

Gazet van Antwerpen said: "She dares now to show her emotions to the public, the media and the whole world. Justine Henin is no longer a closed book."

French-language newspaper Le Soir said Henin, affectionately nicknamed Juju by her fans, had chased away the last of her demons and described the weekend's match as "a spectacle of immense beauty".

She had a wobbly start to the year, dropping out of the Australian Open as she split from her husband, but she has come back to win Doha, Warsaw, Eastbourne, the French Open, Toronto and the U.S. Open.

Henin, who now has four French Open titles, two U.S Open wins and an Australian Open victory under her belt, told Reuters on Sunday that she still hoped to win Wimbledon, the one grand slam title which still eludes her.

Gazet Van Antwerpen said on Monday: "She will soon fill up this gap. Someone who has twice reached the final and three times the semi-finals on this heavenly grass must also be capable of winning the tournament."



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