Justine Henin showed recently that she means business by reaching the final of the 2010 Australian Open in only her second professional tournament in a year and a half. That she lost to Serena Williams in the final should not detract from the achievement; had Justine won the tournament I believe she would have become the first unranked player to ever do so. Admittedly the "unranked" tag is slightly misleading in this case, as Henin was ranked number one in the world when she announced her retirement from tennis at the age of 25. Nevertheless, to come back and compete at such a high level after such a long layoff shows the talent and determination of the woman.
Unfortunately for Justine, the magnitude of her achievement is slightly tarnished by her Belgian compatriot Kim Clijsters' own dramatic comeback last year to win the US Open. If it wasn't for that amazing Hollywood-esque storyline, no doubt we'd all be much more impressed by Henin's comeback.
Anyhow, I for one am delighted to see her back on the tour, and I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more of her in the next few years.
Allez, Justine!
Showing posts with label great tennis comebacks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label great tennis comebacks. Show all posts
Thursday
Wednesday
Great tennis comebacks - Monica Seles
Monica Seles burst onto the professional tennis scene at the tender age of 14, and played in her first grand slam final at the 1989 French Open, where she lost to World Number One Steffi Graf (who was later to marry Andre Agassi) in three sets. The following year the two met again in the French Open final, where this time Seles emerged the victor, and in so doing became the youngest winner of the French Open, at the age of 16 and a half.
Known as much for her trademark on-court grunting as her feisty and tenacious play, she was utterly dominant in 1991 and 1992, where she won the Australian Open, French Open and US Open both years (she didn't compete at Wimbledon in 1991 due to injury and was the losing finalist there in 1992).
Monica looked set to continue in the same vein in 1993, but then was tragically stabbed in the back by a deranged Steffi Graf fan during a changeover at a tournament in Hamburg. Fortunately she was not seriously injured physically, but the incident left lasting psychological scars which kept her out of tennis for over two years, during which time she battled depression and a food disorder. She vowed never to play in Germany again after her attacker was spared jail and simply given probation and psychological treatment.
It's a credit to Monica that she made a successful comeback to the sport in 1995, losing in the final of the US Open (once again to Steffi Graf), then going on to win the 1996 Australian Open for the fourth time. But sadly she never quite managed to reach her former heights as a player, and this was to be her final grand slam victory. Ironically, the stabbing incident endeared her to the tennis public and she enjoyed far greater support in the latter part of her career than when she was previously unstoppable.
Known as much for her trademark on-court grunting as her feisty and tenacious play, she was utterly dominant in 1991 and 1992, where she won the Australian Open, French Open and US Open both years (she didn't compete at Wimbledon in 1991 due to injury and was the losing finalist there in 1992).
Monica looked set to continue in the same vein in 1993, but then was tragically stabbed in the back by a deranged Steffi Graf fan during a changeover at a tournament in Hamburg. Fortunately she was not seriously injured physically, but the incident left lasting psychological scars which kept her out of tennis for over two years, during which time she battled depression and a food disorder. She vowed never to play in Germany again after her attacker was spared jail and simply given probation and psychological treatment.
It's a credit to Monica that she made a successful comeback to the sport in 1995, losing in the final of the US Open (once again to Steffi Graf), then going on to win the 1996 Australian Open for the fourth time. But sadly she never quite managed to reach her former heights as a player, and this was to be her final grand slam victory. Ironically, the stabbing incident endeared her to the tennis public and she enjoyed far greater support in the latter part of her career than when she was previously unstoppable.
Sunday
Great Tennis Comebacks - Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis became the youngest grand slam singles winner of the 20th century when she won the 1997 Australian Open, aged just 16 years and three months. Shortly after that she became the youngest ever world number one. Between 1997 and 2000 the "Swiss Miss" was practically unstoppable, winning numerous grand slam events in both singles and doubles, and dominating the women's game.
Unfortunately in 2001 and then again in 2002 she was forced to take time off for surgery on her ankle tendons and was not able to maintain her form. This resulted in Martina announcing her retirement from tennis in 2003, at the age of just 22 - which seems very young, but then again she had been playing professionally from the age of 14!
Luckily we had not seen the last of her, as she made a comeback in 2006. Overall she had a good year with several wins over top 10 opponents, and managed a couple of tournament wins too, to finish the year ranked number seven in the world. The following year continued in a similar vein, although she was once again affected by injuries, which culminated in her November 2007 announced of her permanent retirement from competitive tennis. No doubt the timing of this had a lot to with with the fact that she had tested positive for cocaine during Wimbledon 2007 (although she maintained her innocence and had an independent test done which came back negative). In any event, she was subsequently banned from the WTA tour for two years and did not contest it.
It's a pity Martina's comeback was so short-lived as she was undoubtedly one of the most talented players of her generation and could have cemented her position as one of the all-time greats by reclaiming her former spot at the top of the world rankings, and possibly adding to her tally of majors.
Unfortunately in 2001 and then again in 2002 she was forced to take time off for surgery on her ankle tendons and was not able to maintain her form. This resulted in Martina announcing her retirement from tennis in 2003, at the age of just 22 - which seems very young, but then again she had been playing professionally from the age of 14!
Luckily we had not seen the last of her, as she made a comeback in 2006. Overall she had a good year with several wins over top 10 opponents, and managed a couple of tournament wins too, to finish the year ranked number seven in the world. The following year continued in a similar vein, although she was once again affected by injuries, which culminated in her November 2007 announced of her permanent retirement from competitive tennis. No doubt the timing of this had a lot to with with the fact that she had tested positive for cocaine during Wimbledon 2007 (although she maintained her innocence and had an independent test done which came back negative). In any event, she was subsequently banned from the WTA tour for two years and did not contest it.
It's a pity Martina's comeback was so short-lived as she was undoubtedly one of the most talented players of her generation and could have cemented her position as one of the all-time greats by reclaiming her former spot at the top of the world rankings, and possibly adding to her tally of majors.
Great tennis comebacks: Andre Agassi
Andre Agassi burst onto the professional tennis scene in 1986 as a precocious 16 year old who quickly established himself as a supremely talented, if somewhat rebellious individual. Who can forget his rockstar mane (which, it turns out was actually a wig) or the bright neon-and-denim outfits he used to turn up to play in? A lesser personality would not have gotten away with it, but his phenomenal talent, charm and charisma meant that ordinary rules did not apply to him.
By the end of 1988 he had already reached number 3 in the world rankings and earned over $2 million, and was a regular grand-slam semi-finalist, but he had to wait until 1992 for his first grand slam title - Wimbledon - which was a tremendous achievement for a baseline player at a time when serve-volley players still ruled the grass courts.
In spite of his talent and success however, Agassi was regarded as somewhat weak mentally, a player who could be beaten if you could hang in long enough against him. He wasn't prepared to graft as much as certain other less-talented players, relying rather on his natural ability to carry him through. This all began to change in 1994 when he teamed up with Brad Gilbert, perhaps the most cunning tactician of the modern tennis era. Gilbert worked with Andre to develop his tactical nous, which undoubtedly was a major factor in his longevity and later success.
But the pressure began to tell in 1997 when injuries and personal issues took their toll on Andre's game, and by the end of the year his ranking had slumped to 141 in the world, which for a player of his ability was almost unthinkable.
His comeback started in 1998 with Andre working hard on his conditioning and working his way back up the rankings by playing in Challenger Series tournaments. He won the French Open in 1999, the only grand slam to elude him up until then, and in so doing joined a very select group of players to have won all four grand slam singles titles during his career.
He carried on playing at the top level until 2006 when he was eventually forced to retire due to chronic injuries at the age of 36. By then he was very much the elder statesman of the game, having transformed himself from the unruly teenage sensation to a mature, tough competitor who was (and still is) a great tennis ambassador.
By the end of 1988 he had already reached number 3 in the world rankings and earned over $2 million, and was a regular grand-slam semi-finalist, but he had to wait until 1992 for his first grand slam title - Wimbledon - which was a tremendous achievement for a baseline player at a time when serve-volley players still ruled the grass courts.
In spite of his talent and success however, Agassi was regarded as somewhat weak mentally, a player who could be beaten if you could hang in long enough against him. He wasn't prepared to graft as much as certain other less-talented players, relying rather on his natural ability to carry him through. This all began to change in 1994 when he teamed up with Brad Gilbert, perhaps the most cunning tactician of the modern tennis era. Gilbert worked with Andre to develop his tactical nous, which undoubtedly was a major factor in his longevity and later success.
But the pressure began to tell in 1997 when injuries and personal issues took their toll on Andre's game, and by the end of the year his ranking had slumped to 141 in the world, which for a player of his ability was almost unthinkable.
His comeback started in 1998 with Andre working hard on his conditioning and working his way back up the rankings by playing in Challenger Series tournaments. He won the French Open in 1999, the only grand slam to elude him up until then, and in so doing joined a very select group of players to have won all four grand slam singles titles during his career.
He carried on playing at the top level until 2006 when he was eventually forced to retire due to chronic injuries at the age of 36. By then he was very much the elder statesman of the game, having transformed himself from the unruly teenage sensation to a mature, tough competitor who was (and still is) a great tennis ambassador.
Great tennis comebacks: Kim Clijsters
Belgian tennis star Kim Clijsters recently completed a fairytale comeback to win the 2009 US Open grand slam event after being out of the professional game for almost two years. In so doing, she cemented her place in the Great Tennis Comebacks hall of fame.
Kim retired from professional tennis in May 2007, shortly before her 24th birthday. Despite playing on the tour for almost ten years, it was almost universally felt that she was too young to retire and was prematurely ending a good career which could have ended up being a great one. Kim's stated reasons for leaving tennis were injuries and a desire to start a family, which she duly did - her daughter Jada was born in February 2008.
So naturally she was received back with open arms when in March 2009 she announced her intention to return. She was granted wildcard entries into tournaments in Cincinnati and Toronto, where she reached the quarter finals and third round respectively - a good enough showing to then be granted a wildcard for the main draw of the US Open which she had won in 2005. In the 2009 tournament she played some solid tennis, defeating both Venus and Serena Williams on her way to the title where she beat Caroline Wozniacki in the final.
When announcing her return to the game, Kim stated that she would evaluate the success of her comeback after the US Open, both in tennis terms and how it works combined with her new family responsibilities. It was surely an unmitigated success on the first count, so let's hope she can find a way to balance her personal commitments so that we can see more of her, because surely this is a player with potential to achieve a lot more in tennis.
Kim retired from professional tennis in May 2007, shortly before her 24th birthday. Despite playing on the tour for almost ten years, it was almost universally felt that she was too young to retire and was prematurely ending a good career which could have ended up being a great one. Kim's stated reasons for leaving tennis were injuries and a desire to start a family, which she duly did - her daughter Jada was born in February 2008.
So naturally she was received back with open arms when in March 2009 she announced her intention to return. She was granted wildcard entries into tournaments in Cincinnati and Toronto, where she reached the quarter finals and third round respectively - a good enough showing to then be granted a wildcard for the main draw of the US Open which she had won in 2005. In the 2009 tournament she played some solid tennis, defeating both Venus and Serena Williams on her way to the title where she beat Caroline Wozniacki in the final.
When announcing her return to the game, Kim stated that she would evaluate the success of her comeback after the US Open, both in tennis terms and how it works combined with her new family responsibilities. It was surely an unmitigated success on the first count, so let's hope she can find a way to balance her personal commitments so that we can see more of her, because surely this is a player with potential to achieve a lot more in tennis.
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