Henin targets SW19 glory

After former world No.1 beats Pennetta in exhibition event

By Elliot Ball   Last updated: 6th December 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Henin targets SW19 glory

Henin: Won exhibition event on Sunday

It is another Justine Henin who will try and go out there and achieve her dream of finally winning Wimbledon

Justine Henin
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Justine Henin has set her sights on the Wimbledon title after winning an exhibition event in her first tournament since announcing her comeback.

The 27-year-old former world number one scooped the Women Tennis Trophy after beating Flavia Pennetta 6-4 6-4 in Charleroi on Sunday and has now targeted her assault on the women's top prizes in 2010.

Henin admitted the straight sets victory over the talented Italian, who is currently 12th in the WTA rankings, has filled her with confidence of emulating the success achieved by compatriot Kim Clijsters.

Clijsters, who also came out of retirement earlier this year, marked her comeback by landing the US Open in September and her fellow Belgian has targeted the SW19 crown as her main objective next season.

"It is another Justine Henin who will try and go out there and achieve her dream of finally winning Wimbledon," said Henin, who needs the elusive London title to complete a clean-sweep Grand Slams.

"I don't know if it's possible but that just makes it an even more passionate challenge for me."

No regrets

Henin retired from tennis in May 2008 after collecting seven Grand Slam titles and spending a total of 117 weeks at the top of the women's rankings.

But 15 months on, the four-time French Open champion announced she will make her official return to the WTA circuit in Brisbane on January 3, 15 days before the Australian Open gets under way in Melbourne.

On her chances in the first major of the year, Henin added: "To be honest, I don't have any big expectations as regards results in Australia.

"But I will be delighted just to return to the country again, I love it there, and to the official circuit.

"I've never regretted my decision to stop playing but now I'm really excited about the prospect of starting a second career that probably won't look anything like the first, at least in my mind."

Henin will compete in another exhibition tournament in Cairo on December 12 before heading Down Under, when she will face Russia's 20th ranked Nadia Petrova.