Henin seeking another happy return - 網球

http://tinyurl.com/4zascvp
Henin seeking another happy return

Saturday, 15 January, 2011
By Matt Trollope

Another Australian Open, another comeback for women's great Justine Henin.

The Belgian enters Australian Open 2011 having barely played a competitive
match since sustaining a season-ending elbow injury at Wimbledon six months
ago. Despite winning four matches at the recent Hopman Cup exhibition event
in Perth without dropping a set, Henin's form is still difficult to gauge,
much as it was when she arrived in Melbourne for last year's tournament.

That year, Henin was returning from a 19-month tennis sabbatical that saw her
enter the draw at Melbourne Park as an unranked wildcard. Despite reaching
the final at the Brisbane International - her only match-play leading into
the tournament - one could only guess how she would fare at her first major
event in two years. It turned out she would perform brilliantly, defeating a
string of quality players on her way to the final where it took world No.1
and defending champion Serena Williams to stop her.

Henin arrived in Melbourne earlier this week and has been practising
strongly, yet says her elbow is still not 100 per cent healed. Not even she
knows how this will affect her progress at the Open. "Every tournament is
new. A lot of things can happen. You have to be focused on this moment and
the future," she said. "Last year was great because it was much more than
what I could expect for. I was coming back. I didn't know really what I could
want from this tournament. It was more than a dream. Unfortunately, I
couldn't go to the end. So I have some regrets about last year and the final.
But the level I played after being away for a year and a half was just great.
I love to play here. I hope it's going to help me again this year."

ju的手肘仍沒有完全痊癒。她說：每個比賽都是新的，會有許多無法預期的事，
必須要專注於每個時刻。去年很棒，超乎我原本所期待的，當我回來時，我不知道我能
從這裡得到哪些，就像是個夢，只可惜我沒走到最後。所以去年對此有了些許遺憾，
不過隔了一年半後，我所表現的還是不錯，我喜歡在這裡打球，希望這會對今年
再次有幫助

Henin is choosing to focus on the positives of her situation despite
less-than-ideal preparation. "It was tough, after five months of my comeback,
to be away for such a long period. But now I can say I'm getting there.
Slowly but surely I'm almost healthy. It's a lot of work, a lot of questions.
But I had a great time in Perth. First time at the Hopman Cup. I had good
matches. I've been working pretty good since that," she said.

儘管低於理想的準備狀態，ju仍選擇正面並專注的面對，"再過了五個月後重回賽場，
那是艱辛的，在經過這麼久的時間，但現在我可以說是健康的，經過了很多的工作，
很多的疑問，但我在霍普曼杯有不錯的表現，我打了不錯的比賽，在那之後我的狀態不錯"

"I feel very happy and very lucky I can be here because still, yeah, like I
explained in Perth, a few weeks, a month ago, I wasn't quite sure I could be
here. So I feel, I mean, it's a great opportunity," she said.

It is indeed a fantastic opportunity for the Belgian to strike at Australian
Open 2011. Despite her somewhat modest ranking of world No.13, Henin presents
as a strong title favourite in a Serena-less draw that is one of the most
open and unpredictable in history. While Kim Clijsters is officially the one
to beat, her preparation has hit a speed bump since she inexplicably blew a
5-0 in the Medibank International final and ultimately capitulated to Li Na.
With fellow great Venus Williams short on form and match play, Sam Stosur
shouldering the heavy burden of hometown expectations, and top two seeds
Caroline Wozniacki and Vera Zvonareva struggling to convince people that they
are legitimate contenders, Henin is very much a dark horse.

(簡單說，因為一團混亂XD所以ju有機會成為黑馬)

Nobody in the draw owns better stats or more big-match experience than Henin,
with the possible exception of Williams. The winner of seven Grand Slam
titles, an Olympic gold medal and two WTA year-end championships, plus
finishing as the year-end No.1 ranked player on three occasions, the Belgian
knows what it takes to win on the big stage. But Henin refuses to get too
confident or prematurely talk up her chances. "I need matches. I need rhythm.
I need a lot of things. We all know a lot of things can happen," she said.

"I never want to look too far. I think a Grand Slam is hard enough like that.
It's a long way. So I'm really here to be in this moment right now. On the
court, it's going to be the same. In every practice, that's what I'm trying
to do, just to work hard. I think that's what's gonna help me to find my
level again soon I hope.

(更多的比賽、找回更多的節奏，然後一場一場的打)

Assessing her opponents, Henin says it's a turbulent time in the women's
game. "You still have the older generation, I should say. I'm part of it.
Kim, Venus of course. Two big, big players. Then the new generation is coming
up," she said. "It's going to be a big battle. There is a lot of concurrence.
But, yeah, we know the few names that can go to the end. But a lot of
surprises also happen in Grand Slams. So who knows what's going to happen
this time."

When Henin takes to Hisense Arena on Monday for her opening round match,
we'll all have a slightly better idea.

---
澳網要開始了！

--