Eastbourne, England (AHN) - Now that she is reunited with her family after several years of estrangement, Justine Henin wants to make up for lost time - immediately.
The world's top-ranked player, who needs to win a title at the prestigious Wimbledon to complete a career Grand Slam, said she wants to win the coveted title for her family members who have had to deal with various gut-wrenching family obstacles that many families go through.
"If I win it (Wimbledon), if I don't win it, another life is going to start in a few years probably, the real life," Henin told AP on Monday. "It would be great and make me part of history, but that's not my biggest motivation. I would love to win it because emotionally it would be fantastic for the good people around me, but that's it."
Henin, who divorced her husband at the end of 2006 before reuniting with her family after her brother was involved in a serious car accident.
"For the first time in my life I feel at peace," Henin said. "Everyone is so happy for me because they feel that I'm a different person, and it's a kind of relief, I'm more open, more free. Everyone has been positive about that."
Henin, who won her third straight French Open title two weeks ago when she defeated Ana Ivanovic in the finals, has reached the Wimbledon final twice, losing to Venus Williams in 2001 and to Amelie Mauresmo last year.
"This year I really see Eastbourne as a preparation tournament for Wimbledon," Henin said. "I'll just try and readjust a few things with my game and work a lot on my serve for sure, and try to be an aggressive player on my serve-and-volley game."
In addition to her three straight wins at Roland Garros, Henin also won the US Open in 2003 and then the Australian Open in 2004.

Email a Friend