Justine Henin returns to her 'garden' with sights on fifth French Open title ‧ Belgian back in Paris for first time since fourth triumph in 2007 ‧ 'This is the tournament of my heart, a love story for a long time' * Simon Cambers in Paris * The Guardian, Saturday 22 May 2010 For Justine Henin, the memories come flooding back every time she walks through the gates at Roland Garros. "It's very strange, not only the same images, but it's always the same feeling, even the smell," the Belgian says. "It's something very strong. Every year when I go back it's always very special. It is my garden." It's not surprising, given that Roland Garros and the French Open, which begins tomorrow, are central to Henin's story, personally and professionally. She first came here to watch the tournament with her mother in 1992, two years before her mother died of cancer when Henin was 12 years old. Henin vowed to return to Paris and in 2003 she won her first grand slam title here – the first of her four French Opens to date. Five months into her comeback after a brief retirement, she is seeded No22 and is the bookmakers' favourite to win her fifth title. Three weeks before she was due to defend her French Open title in 2008, the then 25-year-old quit the sport, saying she no longer enjoyed it. But 18 months later, after trying out a variety of pursuits, including two reality television shows in Belgium, Henin was back with a renewed spirit and seemingly a new, more open attitude. Reaching the final of the Australian Open in January showed that Henin still has what it takes, and although she has been relatively inconsistent of late, she is the one they all want to avoid. It was the former world No1 Boris Becker who described Wimbledon as his personal living room, so at home did he feel on the grass at the All England Club. The same is true of Paris for the 5ft 5in Henin, who seems to grow in stature once inside the gates. Everyone, including the usually fearless world No1, Serena Williams, whom she could meet in the semi-finals(不是QF吗?), knows that if Henin plays her best then she is virtually unstoppable. Plus ca change, as they say in these parts. "Well, it's my garden," Henin said. "It doesn't mean I am going to feel comfortable when I walk there. But I am a very emotional person and I need the emotions to give my best. I have to feel something strong and must have a history. The history of the French Open was that I went there with my mum in 1992, and for my whole life it's going to be something special. "The fact also that I love [is] when my friends or family, the people that I love, can come and watch me play, that gives me extra motivations. In Paris it's very easy, it's so close to home. "And clay is the surface that I grew up on and a surface that not a lot of players like. Not many players like to slide, or know how to slide on the clay. It's not an easy surface. I think you need to be very complete to win in Paris and I definitely feel very at home there." You have to go back six years to find Henin's last defeat on the clay courts at Roland Garros, a second-round loss to the little-known Italian Tathiana Garbin when Henin was suffering from an immune- system problem that then forced her off the tour for three months. She won the title here for three years in a row – from 2005 to 2007 – and, having not played since then, is defending a winning streak of 21 matches and 35 consecutive sets. Not even a freak injury, when she broke the little finger on her left hand during training for a Fed Cup tie in April, set her back for long. Henin won the tournament the following week in Stuttgart and although a bout of flu cost her a first-round defeat in Madrid last time out, she is still full of confidence. "The French Open has been, I would say, a love story for a long, long time," she said. "It's the tournament of my heart." == 希望这篇能增加一点大家的信心 虽然Ju目前并不是很稳定 But~~C'mon,35盘连胜耶,应该能给大家多点信心吧 而且Ju比其他人更知道在法网的红土上该怎麽打 虽然法网的场地和过去不太一样了,或许是个比较潜在不确定的因素 还有Ju v 2.0更新版的打法,到底在红土上会有多少成效呢? 如果她能增加稳定性,并打出对JJ和Stosur的第三盘的状态,那某程度还是令人放心的 所以大家就静观其变吧:P --

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