Justine Henin makes a fantastic comeback

Stuttgart. What a fantastic comeback for Justine Henin. Playing in her first tournament after her 18 month break from the game, the former world No. 1 reached the Brisbane final where she had a pulsating battle with her Belgian countrywoman, Kim Clijsters. In the decisive third set at the 220,000 dollar tournament, the winner of the 2007 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix was 5-4 up and had two match points. But to no avail as Kim Clijsters, who herself had come out of retirement – during which she gave birth to her first child – to return to the WTA Tour last year, eventually won the enthralling match 6-3, 4-6, 7-6.

Despite losing, the highly delighted Justine Henin commented, “The tournament was like a dream for me. I couldn’t have expected anything more.” Talking after the successful dress rehearsal for the Australian Open, Kim Clijsters, who won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in both 2002 and 2003, said, “I think we’ve set a pretty high level for the rest of the year.”

Andrea Petkovic also had a successful start to the new season in Brisbane. Wins over the seeded Iveta Benesova (Czech Republic) and Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) put the German in the semifinals where she, in spite of playing well, lost 6-4, 6-2 to Kim Clijsters.

11/01/2010