Beaten Henin keeps her Wimbledon expectations low
By DPA, IANSMonday, May 31, 2010
PARIS - Justine Henin said Monday she will take a day to digest her first French Open defeat in six years, with the former number one adding that she would not set any unrealistic goals for Wimbledon.
Henin lost her fourth-round match at Roland Garros 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 to Australian Samantha Stosur, who beat the four-time champion in Henin’s first return to the event since 2007.
The former number one quit the game in May, 2008, but made a u-turn and returned to the WTA in January, reaching the finals of her first two events (Brisbane and the Australian Open) and winning a title last month on clay in Stuttgart.
“Of course it is disappointing, it’s never easy to lose, and especially in this kind of situation,” said the seven-time Grand Slam winner. “I just wanted so much that the adventure could keep going.”
“I wasn’t at my best today. Samantha was the best player on the court, she took her chances, the opportunities.”
Henin said that her next goal will be to prepare for the grass season, but refused to detail just yet her possible schedule outside of Wimbledon starting in three weeks.
It is the only one of the four majors that the 27-year-old has not won, losing finals there in 2001 and 2006.
“In terms of what I’m gonna play before Wimbledon, I still have no idea about my plan. We will discuss this in the next two days.”
“I want to go as far as possible over there. But in 2010, it’s probably a bit too early to say, Well, it’s going to be my goal to win it. There are so many things I have to work on.”
The Belgian said she was not mentally crushed by her Paris loss. “I was really here to play match after match, and that’s what I did.”
“I keep some positive things from this tournament, I never considered myself as the favorite. If I could win have won one more match or two more matches, then you can start dreaming.”
“But that is not the case anymore.”
