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Post by Grarliner on May 16, 2008 1:39:16 GMT -5
It's just so hard to fathom the timing. Why not one more Roland Garros? Her favorite tournament, three-time defending champion, why not one last run at that prize before going away? Why retire after a shitty loss to Safina in Berlin?
Whatever might be said about Justine, she sure has no sense of the fitting exit.
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Post by Denise49IQ on May 16, 2008 3:25:20 GMT -5
Well, I wonder who the new French Open champion is going to be. It's gonna be embarrassing.
And whatever, Justine. Have fun taking wild adventure holidays in Kenya etc.
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Post by DBBN on May 16, 2008 11:33:09 GMT -5
It's just so hard to fathom the timing. Why not one more Roland Garros? Her favorite tournament, three-time defending champion, why not one last run at that prize before going away? Why retire after a shitty loss to Safina in Berlin? Whatever might be said about Justine, she sure has no sense of the fitting exit. This, I disagree with. Why not go out with a 21-match winning streak instead of 24-1? I think that's part of the reason she picked now and, indeed, made it more fitting. Same with the ranking: why not go out at #1 instead of chancing going out #3?
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Post by lexpretend on May 16, 2008 12:03:26 GMT -5
Really, the thing I don't understand is how certain she seemed that she couldn't add to her achievements; not just this year, but ever.
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Post by DBBN on May 16, 2008 12:57:13 GMT -5
Yes, I mean...take the risk, sure. But she wouldn't get anywhere if she was just in it for more achievements. That would weigh on her too much and nothing would come of it.
I'm okay with Serena having the edge over her. Venus, on the other hand, must be held at 6.
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Post by DBBN on May 16, 2008 12:58:04 GMT -5
Well, I wonder who the new French Open champion is going to be. It's gonna be embarrassing. It's certainly going to be an interesting tournament for sure allez come on.
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Post by sasha on May 16, 2008 13:10:48 GMT -5
This, I disagree with. Why not go out with a 21-match winning streak instead of 24-1? I think that's part of the reason she picked now and, indeed, made it more fitting. Same with the ranking: why not go out at #1 instead of chancing going out #3? If Justine is burned out on tennis enough to not want to play at her favorite tournament, I doubt she cares about any of that. Besides, she can't lose #1 at RG, anyway. Maybe because she couldn't cheat anymore. Or, didn't want to take the risks of doing so, again.
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Post by DBBN on May 16, 2008 13:31:49 GMT -5
If Justine is burned out on tennis enough to not want to play at her favorite tournament, I doubt she cares about any of that. Besides, she can't lose #1 at RG, anyway. Okay, then...there is no reason to "fathom the timing." Justine hates tennis: end, and timing is moot.
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Post by Traveling Man on May 16, 2008 14:06:55 GMT -5
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Post by sasha on May 17, 2008 0:47:12 GMT -5
Kim Clijsters, the nicest person to ever wield a tennis racket!!1
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Post by Grarliner on May 17, 2008 0:50:08 GMT -5
It's just so hard to fathom the timing. Why not one more Roland Garros? Her favorite tournament, three-time defending champion, why not one last run at that prize before going away? Why retire after a shitty loss to Safina in Berlin? Whatever might be said about Justine, she sure has no sense of the fitting exit. This, I disagree with. Why not go out with a 21-match winning streak instead of 24-1? I think that's part of the reason she picked now and, indeed, made it more fitting. Same with the ranking: why not go out at #1 instead of chancing going out #3? Well, examine the numbers. There was no chance anybody would be #1 after the French but Justine - no matter what. So why not?
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Post by DBBN on May 17, 2008 1:09:51 GMT -5
Because she is unbeatable at the French until she loses. Keep that streak. I think that's the most important facet of her career -- she probably feels that if she loses at the French, who is she? Henin/Nadal in Paris, that's the given of the year. Screw that up, the vultures emerge.
She wants to go out with no questions. She is the Best Clay-Court Player of her gen. Don't lose that. That's her identity.
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Post by lexpretend on May 17, 2008 2:24:02 GMT -5
She's requested to be removed from the rankings. Doesn't even care about getting some extra weeks at No 1!
I hate retirees being able to remove themselves anyway.
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Post by lexpretend on May 17, 2008 2:50:40 GMT -5
Lolz, Goran:
"I don't understand it. She was No.1 and she retires. She was such an unbelievable player and could have won more Grand Slams. I don't know why she did it. Maybe it's a woman thing. I don't understand women. It's very sad for tennis -- a big loss." -- Goran Ivanisevic, 2001 Wimbledon champion
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Post by Traveling Man on May 17, 2008 4:54:02 GMT -5
I attended Dubai 2003 which Henin won. She beat JenPot 7-5 in the third in a SF that ended late at night. 24 hours later, she beat Monica 4-6, 7-6, 7-5 saving a matchpoint. I was initially gutted, but Justine had played such a tremendous match, it was hard not to appreciate the quality of tennis on display from both women. I'm glad I have those memories.
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Post by Traveling Man on May 17, 2008 4:55:13 GMT -5
Oh and I attended the QF as well where she beat Myskina easily. Afterwards, I got an autograph and when I thanked her, she smiled and said, "You're vaalcome". Hehe. That was very cute.
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Post by janie on May 17, 2008 20:04:40 GMT -5
'Henin could play again 'if she can't find happiness in real life'By Mark Ryan Sunday, 18 May 2008 Having shocked the world with the announcement of her retirement from tennis, Justine Henin, the former world No 1, spent yesterday behind closed doors... playing tennis. In a way it was typical of the girl who used to bash her mother's kitchen to pieces with forehands and backhands at the age of seven. But the venue and opposition for her latest – some fear last – tennis match was poignant. She played her brother Thomas at his new tennis club in Rocourt, Liège. It was a knockabout game, just for fun, and no media were invited. For once in Justine's extraordinary life it did not matter who won and lost. There would be no debrief from her coach, Carlos Rodriguez, with whom the dynamic changed once they went into business together to open a costly tennis academy. There would be no attempt to change her game to help her win Wimbledon, a gamble that ended in her form falling apart. But the fact that she was trying to recapture that basic sense of fun with a racket suggested to some members of her family, including her opponent, that the rest of us may not have seen the last of the backhand once described by John McEnroe as "the best shot in tennis". Even Justine had quietly told one Belgian reporter last week, in response to the inevitable question about whether her retirement was permanent: "I don't have a crystal ball". When I asked Thomas about the possibility of her making a comeback, he left the door open too: "Maybe, I don't know. In six months to a year, if she hasn't found happiness in real life, it is possible. We don't know about the future." Thomas is very close to Justine again, though it has not always been that way. She had not spoken to Thomas for seven years until her other brother, David, almost died in a car crash in 2007. One of the reasons that bitter feud lasted so long was the fact that Justine did not return home for the funeral of Thomas's six-week-old son Emilien, who died of lung failure in 2001. She was too busy playing tennis in the US. Thomas has since remarried and has a baby daughter called Kiara, to whom Justine is godmother. But last autumn tragedy struck again in the Henin family when Justine's younger sister, Sarah, was told that the baby son she was carrying had no chance of long-term survival because of a heart defect. Justine had to play tennis for Steffi Graf's cancer charity in Mannheim the day after she heard the news, and smiled for the cameras while desolate inside. As that son, Romain, was born prematurely and died, Justine was playing in Madrid at the WTA tournament she eventually won by beating Maria Sharapova in an epic battle. She had seriously considered pulling out, but her father, Jose, told her to win it for Sarah and Romain. Justine obliged in dramatic style, but felt so mentally and physically shattered by being torn in different directions that she knew the end of her career was close. Then a wonderful thing happened, though it only sharpened Justine's desire to quit. Sarah became pregnant again, this time with a baby girl who has been declared perfectly healthy as she prepares for birth. Before that day comes, Sarah will be married, to her long-term boyfriend, Louis, in July. Justine's tennis schedule would have allowed her to enjoy the wedding day itself, but not the preparations and perhaps not the birth. This time she will be at her sister's side, come what may. However, Sarah's story has also caused Justine to realise that in her own personal life she has been going backwards. She divorced Pierre-Yves Hardenne a few months ago and thought she might have found her knight in shining armour during a hush-hush winter romance. Instead, her lover, a South African doctor, proved to be anything but Mr Right, and they went their separate ways a few weeks ago. Jose revealed: "That's over, and Justine felt that men don't want her for the person she is but because she is the worldNo 1. She believes she will have a much bigger chance of meeting a good man and then having children in the future if she is not playing tennis any more." If Justine's Prince Charming does not show himself in the world beyond tennis, however, and games like yesterday's against her brother rekindle her love of her sport, could she return to become queen of the courts again? "It might be possible to see her come back one day, just a chance," suggested Jose. "When Kim Clijsters quit she stopped completely. Justine is already playing again, so who knows?" If she finds no love match, Henin may yet return. Time will tell, and she knows the clock is ticking. www.independent.co.uk/sport/tennis/henin-could-play-again-if-she-cant-find-happiness-in-real-life-830242.html?r=RSS
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Post by janie on May 17, 2008 20:05:06 GMT -5
Oh and I attended the QF as well where she beat Myskina easily. Afterwards, I got an autograph and when I thanked her, she smiled and said, "You're vaalcome". Hehe. That was very cute. Lucky you!
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Post by sasha on May 17, 2008 20:33:33 GMT -5
Oh, so she'll be back.
Nothing gets me to hate a player more than fake retirements.
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Post by janie on May 17, 2008 20:57:29 GMT -5
I still don't think she'll come back. But who knows? I was sure Hingis would never return, too.
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Post by sasha on May 17, 2008 23:40:45 GMT -5
Hingis is an extroverted slut that never got to live the life she wanted. At least it was understandable, and not delusional.
Justine is an introvert that wants to piss away her career in the hopes that a man will just love Justine for Justine. Yeah, good luck with that.
I wish it was roids now.
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Post by Denise49IQ on May 18, 2008 5:34:20 GMT -5
Yeah, she's coming back. I'd say around 2010.
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Post by Brinyi on May 18, 2008 8:47:41 GMT -5
I still don't think she'll come back. But who knows? I was sure Hingis would never return, too. She'll come back in October 2010, in accordance with prophesy!
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Post by Denise49IQ on May 18, 2008 10:58:21 GMT -5
Maybe she'll find herself another gay husband, convert, and return back on tour in 3 years with a hot lesbian lover.
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Post by sasha on May 18, 2008 11:39:33 GMT -5
Sadly, I think her relationship with Softenne is a big reason for this. It seems like she wants to be the meek mother who slaves in the kitchen all day. Ugh.
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Post by lexpretend on May 18, 2008 13:07:52 GMT -5
If we can't even let a week elapse without muttering about a possible return, I guess we'll see Justine back on court by the time the year is out.
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Post by Brinyi on Jul 30, 2008 11:29:06 GMT -5
The money-losing and debt-ridden WTA event in Strasbourg has been put to death. This leaves just 2 distaff events in France, Paris indoors and RG.
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Post by Wagasi on Jul 31, 2008 20:56:13 GMT -5
Oh lord Justine. Barely two months after "I can't possibly play another day, I must retire MAINTENANT" we get this bullshit? Seriously, please just stay retired so we can live with the fallacy that you're not just like every other wta player in being an unstable flake.
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Post by sasha on Jul 31, 2008 22:34:11 GMT -5
What did Justine do?
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Post by janie on Aug 1, 2008 6:17:37 GMT -5
Oh lord Justine. Barely two months after "I can't possibly play another day, I must retire MAINTENANT" we get this bullshit? Seriously, please just stay retired so we can live with the fallacy that you're not just like every other wta player in being an unstable flake.
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