Justine Henin said the US Open title she won was the greatest of her seven Grand Slam crowns because it proved to all doubters, including herself, that she is the worlds best tennis player.
World number one Henin beat Russian fourth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-3 to win the year’s final Grand Slam title, completing a fantastic fortnight on Saturday in which she never dropped a set and beat Venus and Serena Williams.
“This one is maybe the most important one. The quality I played in the last few matches is amazing,” Henin said. “It’s just a great feeling because I had a tough draw and I had a lot of things to prove to myself — not to anyone else, just to myself – and I did it.”
The 25-year-old Belgian added to a Grand Slam haul that also includes the US Open crown she took in 2003, her 2004 Australian Open victory and French Open titles in 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007.
Despite an upset semifinal loss at Wimbledon and being in a half of the US Open draw with Serbian top-five stars Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic and her long-time rivals Venus and Serena Williams, Henin came through with a title.
Henin was only the second woman to sweep the Williamses in a Slam, ousting eight-time Slam champion Serena in a quarterfinal and six-time Slam winner Venus in a semifinal, and the first to then go on and win the title.
“Not a lot of people thought I could win this Open with the draw I had and I did. It’s amazing for me,” Henin said.
Lot of confidence
“I hope I can keep a lot of confidence from this tournament. Beating Venus and Serena and winning today this way, this gives me a lot of confidence.”
Henin’s 36th career title was her seventh in 11 events this year in a season that began with the breakup of her marriage to Pierre-Yves Hardenne.
But Henin found greater inner confidence after a March reconciliation with her father Jose, elder brothers David and Thomas and younger sister Sarah.
“I’m feeling at peace with myself and that’s very important for me,” Henin said. “I do prefer when it’s calm and normal and it is right now. It’s much better in my life so I can imagine there’s a little impact on my tennis.
“I didn’t know really what to expect from this season when it started pretty badly for me. I just kept fighting and came back probably stronger so it’s just great.”
After the victory was complete, Henin raced into the stands and found Carlos Rodriguez, her coach since age 14, for a congratulatory embrace.
“I was glad I could go and hug him. It was really important to me,” Henin said. “It has been just a great year for both of us. That’s why I wanted to go see him in the stands. It’s a big day for Carlos and I. Just the two of us know how really hard it has been. It was tough. He gave me unbelievable support, never judging, and he was always there for me.”
Between her Slam triumphs this year was a heartbreaking Wimbledon semifinal upset loss to France’s Marion Bartoli, ending Henin’s bid to complete a career Grand Slam this year.
“Now I just think about my seven Grand Slams and it just starts to be an amazing number for me.”