女網僅三人受Henin教練青睞：Henin復出 … - 網球

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整篇Henin的新訪問


Justine Returns

It’s a small world after all and now Mickey Mouse has a notable new neighbor
showing a sixth sense: Justine Henin.

The former World No. 1, who retired from tennis in May, long-time coach
Carlos Rodriguez and Pat Etcheberry, her strength and conditioning coach,
reconvened to officially launch the American branch of their 6th Sense Tennis
Academy at Mission Inn Resort and Club just outside of Orlando, Florida on
Saturday.

“I’ve had a lot of good memories, good emotions and good moments playing
here in the States. So coming from a little country like Belgium to bring our
Academy over here to the States is a very good, exciting and interesting
challenge,” Henin told Tennis Week. “We hope to bring something different
to tennis here — a different philosophy — and we want to remind kids that
tennis is a game. Before you can become a professional, it’s got to be a
passion and it’s gonna be a human adventure that we do all together so it’s
going to be really, really exciting to be here.”

The 6th Sense Tennis Academy, which was founded in Belgium in November of
2007 by Henin and her coach of 12 years plans “to guide and support each
player depending on their age, their level and most importantly their own
projects.”

“I think Justine and I achieved something very special and we’re in the
mood to put our experiences together and try to build something for the
future,” Rodriguez told Tennis Week. “I think you see tennis has become a
little too much superficial. I think in the society that we live in today
they try to do the things as soon as they can and it’s very difficult to
have long-term development, which can be problem for the players. I think if
we would like to take the option to have a player like Roger and Justine in
the future we have to take the time in the beginning to create a good base
and teach the player to be able to play different styles, use different
tactics and play on all different surfaces. ”

Henin began playing tennis at the age of eight and learned the skills that
would take her to the top of the world rankings by downsizing. She first
learned by playing mini-tennis on a smaller-sized tennis court — first a
36-foot court then a 60-foot court — until she established a solid
foundation to grow from. Recalling the importance playing mini-tennis had on
her own development, Henin said the concept is one of the foundations for her
Academy at Mission Inn Resort and Club.

“The way I learned to play is different from those in the U.S., and the
Academy will be a way to share my experience and bring something new to the
U.S.,” Henin said. “We want to support tennis players during their young,
vital learning years, with special attention to the complete development of
their game, especially by using technical and tactical approach, and by using
mini-tennis.”

The accelerated pace of the pro circuit prompted the seven-time Grand Slam
champion to call it quits a few weeks before she was scheduled to launch her
quest for an Open Era record fourth consecutive Roland Garros crown. Prior to
officially announcing her retirement, Henin gave a glimpse of how she
envisioned life after tennis.

“I’m young in life, but starting to get old on the tour,” Henin said. “I’
m growing up and I need different things. Even physically I don’t recover as
well as I did when I was 20. That’s normal. Now I’ve been playing tennis
for 20 years and it’s been my whole life but as a woman, as you get older,
you need to think about the future. I’d love to go back to study. It would
be a good challenge and I’ve been thinking about it a lot recently.”

That thought process led to quick action: she retired and says she’s been
spending her time studying to complete her high school education, travelling
and working with Rodriguez at the Belgian branch of her academy.

“I started to study again and want to finish my high school either this year
or the year after. So I’ve been studying and I took my first real break, I
took a holiday for the first time ever, and that was very important to me,”
Henin told Tennis Week. “I just took some time for myself to relax. Then I
started doing some seminars and coaching with Carlos and with the Academy and
Foundation so I can be as busy as I was before I retired.”

During last month’s US Open, rumors swirled that Henin had resumed training
and was contemplating a future comeback.

Given the fact Henin is only 26 years old (younger than both Williams
sisters, who won two of the four majors this season) and produced arguably
the best tennis of her career in 2007, posting a 63-4 record and winning 10
of the 14 events she entered, including Roland Garros, the U.S. Open and the
season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships in Madrid where she played a brand
of attacking tennis not seen since the days of Martina Navratilova, it’s not
inconceivable she could take a year or two off and launch a successful
comeback. Lindsay Davenport and Martina Hingis both crafted successful
comebacks after apparent retirements and players ranging from Jennifer
Capriati to Mary Pierce made winning returns after self-imposed sabbaticals.

Henin shot down suggestions she is considering a competitive return.

“No, no competition is over for me. For me, it’s definitely over,” Henin
said emphatically. “When I took my decision I knew it was forever. So I don’
t say I will never be back for an exhibition or for another event in the
future. But for me (playing) on the Tour? Yeah, it’s in the past and I won’
t come back. I made the right decision and I stick to my decision. I will
never change my mind about that decision.”

Rodriguez, who has served as Henin’s coach — and for a time was a surrogate
father figure — was less definitive when asked if he could envision Justine
someday picking up the racquet and unleashing her trademark one-handed
backhand in competition again.

“I don’t know. I never say never, but I don’t think about it at this
point: we have a lot of challenges with the academy,” Rodriguez said. “Like
I always say: in my life I’ve learned you never know what is going on the in
the future. In any case, no she hasn’t been training. She has to rest a
little bit because she’s going to get knee surgery and after that I don’t
know.”

In retrospect, Henin believes her career climaxed 11 months ago when she
played a brilliant brand of attacking tennis in subduing Maria Sharapova,
5-7, 7-5, 6-3, to capture the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships in
Madrid.

“I think walking off the court that day, I felt something was over for
myself,” Henin said. “I took a few months to realize that my career was
over that day. It was one of the longest matches of my career, it was one of
the toughest matches of my career and it was one of the best matches of my
career. It was the last match of the best season of my career. Everything was
perfect for me in the way it ended that day and looking back that was the end.
”

A relaxed Henin was in good spirits when we caught up with for this interview
in which she discusses her new Academy and future plans in tennis.

Tennis Week: It’s a big day for you in officially opening the branch of your
6th Sense Academy here in the States. What does this mean to you and what do
you hope to achieve with it?

Justine Henin: It is really exciting for me. I’ve had a lot of good
memories, good emotions and good moments playing here in the States. So
coming from a little country like Belgium to bring our Academy over here to
the States is a very good, exciting and interesting challenge. We hope to
bring something different to tennis here — a different philosophy — and we
want to remind kids that tennis is a game. Before you can become a
professional, it’s got to be a passion and it’s gonna be a human adventure
that we do all together so it’s going to be really, really exciting to be
here.

Tennis Week: How many players are currently enrolled in your academy in
Belgium and how actively involved are you in that Academy?

Justine Henin: We have gradually grown and grown and have started to become
really big. We have about 600 kids in the biggest club and in all the
academies together we have almost 1,800 kids. We have almost 20 kids for the
elite group of our Academy in Belgium. We’re growing more in the future and
in the next few months I’m going to be more and more involved there. I took
a bit of a break this summer, but I’m going to be more involved in it now
and try to help Carlos with it. I’m looking forward to that.

Tennis Week: During the US Open there were rumors that you were training
again. Are you considering an eventual comeback? You’re only 26 years old —
two of the four women who won major titles this season are older than you
are —and you retired as World No. 1. Would you ever consider a comeback —
even playing a limited schedule?

Justine Henin: No, no competition is over for me. For me, it’s definitely
over. When I took my decision I knew it was forever. So I don’t say I will
never be back for an exhibition or for another event in the future. But for
me (playing) on the Tour? Yeah, it’s in the past and I won’t come back. I
made the right decision and I stick to my decision. I will never change my
mind about that decision.

Tennis Week: So were you training recently?

Justine Henin: No, no.

Tennis Week: You and Roger Federer both possess the one-handed backhands, the
ability to attack and defend and play all-court tennis. Both of you were
successful on all surfaces. Given the fact that the game at the elite level
is virtually exclusively played from the baseline and both of you were so
successful playing all-court do you think your style is a natural antidote to
the baseline game? Do you think the game will evolve to the way you played it
in the future or is the style you and Roger play too demanding for most in
that it requires athleticism as well as mastering all shots?

Justine Henin: I’m not quite sure it’s the future of the game. It’s not
that often you can see these kinds of players. Players keep hitting the ball
harder and harder. The game is so fast now. It’s often the same thing, the
same style. So I’m not quite sure we’re gonna see different styles of game
in the future because of the way the game is played now.

Tennis Week: At your Academy, do you try to encourage the elite juniors to
play your style or do you try to build on each kid’s individual strength in
creating their own game style?

Justine Henin: We have to take every kid with their own qualities and their
own talent. We try to see their basis, their foundation, and then work on it
and build on their talent. We don’t make a model and try to make them play
the way I played. We’re all different — all different players and
personalities — and we have to deal with that and work with what each
individual player does the best.

Tennis Week: Of all your matches, two that stand out for me was the
incredible three-hour semifinal win over Jennifer Capriati in the 2003 US
Open semis where you were a couple of points from elimination nine or 10
times and still fought back to win and you went on to win the US Open. The
other match was a year ago in Madrid when you battled Sharapova for a 5-7,
7-5, 6-3 win in the final of the Tour Championships. From the outside looking
in, it just looked like you poured every piece of yourself into that match.
When you walked off the court that day in Madrid did you think that might be
the end? Did you feel that you gave all you could give and that might be the
end of your career?

Justine Henin: Yeah, I think I did. I think walking off the court that day, I
felt something was over for myself. I took a few months to realize that my
career was over that day. It was one of the longest matches of my career, it
was one of the toughest matches of my career and it was one of the best
matches of my career. It was the last match of the best season of my career.
Everything was perfect for me in the way it ended that day and looking back
that was the end.

Tennis Week: When you announced your retirement in May you spoke about
wanting to go back to school and about your desire to take some time to
travel. What have you been doing since you retired?

Justine Henin: I started to study again and want to finish my high school
either this year or the year after. So I’ve been studying and I took my
first real break, I took a holiday for the first time ever, and that was very
important to me. I just took some time for myself to relax. Then I started
doing some seminars and coaching with Carlos and with the Academy and
Foundation so I can be as busy as I was before I retired.

Tennis Week: Do you have any immediate plans for exos, projects or
fund-raisers for your charitable foundation?

Justine Henin: We changed a little bit a few things — not the philosophy,
but in terms of how we will do things — so it’s gonna start again end of
the year. We are planning for different activities, especially next year, and
it’s still too early for me to tell you about it right now.

Tennis Week: What do you miss the most about tennis and what do you love the
most about your life now?
Justine Henin: What I miss most is just the work with Carlos; the work we did
together. Every day this contact, this relationship, I miss that, but we can
do it another way. But this relationship with Carlos was always a big part of
my life so that’s the thing I miss most and doing the hard work every day.
The thing I love the most about my new life is there is no more pressure.
Everything I do it’s because it’s my choice to do it. I do what I want to
do. It’s less stressful than my life in tennis. It was quite tough toward
the end of my career with all the pressure all these years. Now, I can live
more relaxed and that’s a very nice feeling for me.

Tennis Week: What do you want to do with your life now and is it important
for you to find something that challenges you — either professionally,
personally or intellectually — the way that tennis challenged you?

Justine Henin: I’m gonna be involved in tennis and have my personal life
too. It’s just a question of finding the perfect balance. But I don’t miss
the game. I don’t miss the adrenaline because I can find it in other ways.
If you’re intense in everything you do then you can just feel that
everything is complete in your life.

Tennis Week: Speaking of adrenaline, have you done any sky-diving or
thrill-seeking recently?

Justine Henin: (laughs) No, no not for a long time now.

Tennis Week: Do you watch tennis? Have you followed the game since you left?

Justine Henin:No, not really. I just follow maybe one or two matches on the
men’s tour. I’ve been busy doing other things. I follow the results I
little bit, but I can’t sit here and say I follow all the matches and know
what’s happening. I don’t follow it closely.



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