Justine Henin described her grand slam comeback as "almost perfect", despite falling at the final hurdle when she lost yesterday's Australian Open final to Serena Williams. In her first grand slam event since retiring in May 2008, the 27-year-old Belgian, playing courtesy of a wildcard, came up agonisingly short as she attempted to emulate compatriot Kim Clijster's feat of winning the US Open in her comeback last year.
The former world No 1, playing in her first major final since the US Open in 2007, looked set to do exactly that when she dominated the closing stages of the second set to level the match. However, Henin said she missed her opportunity early in the third set and Williams was able to steady to win 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. Despite the disappointment of losing the final, the seven-time grand slam champion said her assessment of the fortnight was overwhelmingly positive as she looked forward in the long term to her return to tennis.
"Of course [I am] disappointed, I mean, when you lose in the final of a grand slam, especially in three sets," she said. "But this feeling of disappointment cannot take away all the things I've done in the last few weeks. "And it's just more than what I could expect, I just have to rem-ember that. "I'm sure there will be a lot of positive things I can think about in a few days, it's been almost perfect.
"Just the last step, I couldn't make it. "It's a mixed feeling at the moment, but in a few hours I'm sure it's going to be much better." Henin said she still had a great deal of improvement to come, but that reaching the final justified her decision to return to the court following her hiatus from the sport. "I was curious about what my level would be and how I was going to deal with just the atmosphere on and off the court, how it would feel," she said.
"I feel that I took the right decision, so it's good enough for me already. "I can be really happy about that." Henin added that her battling straight sets second-round win over the world No 5 Elena Dementieva was her personal highlight of the tournament. "When I beat Dementieva, it was a very good moment because the quality of the match was very, very good, and it was a match that I was waiting for," she said.
"It was a very good memory for me. But generally, the way I felt in the last few weeks has been fantastic. "So I go back with only good things." Henin won the last three games of the second set to level the match and had won 15 straight points when she took the first game of the decider to love. However, she said the match turned when Williams was able to hold serve in the second game of the final set after a struggle.
"I had the big opportunity in the beginning of the third set, I started to play much better at the end of the second, really aggressive," she said. "She was under pressure and she served unbelievable in that game." * With agencies
