It's official: Henin to return to tennis next year

Despite seven Grand Slam titles, an Olympic gold medal and more than two years as the world No. 1, Justine Henin didn't feel quite satisfied enough after calling it quits on a stellar tennis career.

Her retirement lasted 16 months.

On Tuesday, Henin said her fire and desire to play and win again at the highest level was back, and she will return to the tour next year and compete in the Australian Open in January.

She wants to play at least until the 2012 London Olympics when she will be 30. By then, she hopes to have won Wimbledon- the only Grand Slam title missing on her resume that contains four French Open titles, two U.S. Opens and one Australian Open championship.

"I want to keep going at least until then," she said of the London Games.

She already won singles gold at the Athens Games in 2004.

Never having won Wimbledon really stung when her memories drifted back on her achievements.

So when the adrenaline rush came back a few months back, just about a year after she stunned the world with her "definitive decision" to retire, she asked her fellow-retiree Carlos Rodriguez, her coach, to give a comeback a thought.

"I hope this is the beginning of a new adventure, again," she said.

Without any regrets she's leaving recreational skiing, some theater and television work behind.

"Adrenaline is part of my life, my existence. It is in my character," she said. And the world better take notice. After the comeback from retirement yielded her fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters a U.S. open title within three tournaments, Henin has even more motivation.

Her timorous frame of 5-feet 51/2-inches (1.67 meters) and 126 pounds (57 kilograms) is again lifting weights with the same determination of yore in the hope she will be able to out-hit the hulking power hitters.

She wants to play two exhibition tournaments, in Charleroi, Belgium, and Dubai, to hone her skills ahead of a competitive return at the Australian Open.

At 27, Henin says she has the fire and physical strength to compete for an eighth Grand Slam title.

She officially retired on May 14, 2008, initially rejecting any thought of a comeback with a dogged determination that had come to mark her play throughout a decade-long career.

It certainly is not too late for a comeback. As Clijsters has proved.

"Subconsciously, it might have had an impact," Henin said of Clijsters' successful comeback. "But it certainly was not the most important reason."

Clijsters' stunning return also proves the top of women's tennis is not flush with extraordinary talent, increasing Henin's chances of success. The WTA Tour is certainly welcoming her with open arms.

"Justine is one of the great champions in the history of women's tennis, and we, along with millions of her fans around the globe, are thrilled," WTA Tour Chairman Stacey Allaster said. "Justine is that rare athlete who decided to step away from the game at the height of her powers, and no doubt she will be a force to be reckoned with from the get go."

Like Clijsters, Henin has been able to rest her body to recover from aches and pains for more than a year. Although throughout her retirement, during which she became a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, she looked fit enough to immediately step back on to a court.

Del Potro stuns Federer in five sets to win his first U.S. Open

Juan Martin del Potro ended Roger Federer's run of dominance at the U.S. Open on Monday, stunning the top-ranked Swiss great in five sets to win in his first Grand Slam final.

The 20-year-old Argentine prevailed 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 to snap Federer's streak of five straight U.S. Open titles. The sixth-seeded del Potro had not beaten Federer in their six previous encounters

"Maybe I look back and have some regrets about it," said Federer, never before beaten by anyone other than Rafael Nadal in a major final. "But, you know, you can't have them all and can't always play your best."

Federer was seeking to become the first man since Bill Tilden in 1920-25 to win the American championship six straight times and the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win three straight majors in a season.

Two points from victory against inexperienced, unheralded del Potro, two points from a record-extending 16th Grand Slam overall, Federer, quite simply, fell apart.

He railed at the chair umpire. His legs grew weary. His double-faults mounted. He could not figure out a way to stop the 6-foot-6 del Potro from pounding forehand after forehand past him. In a result as surprising for who lost as how it happened, del Potro came back to win his first Grand Slam title.

He had won 40 consecutive matches at Flushing Meadows. He had won 33 of his previous 34 Grand Slam matches. And he has made the final at 17 of the past 18 Grand Slam tournaments, 21 overall.

After handing No. 3 Nadal the most lopsided loss of his Grand Slam career in the semifinals Sunday, del Potro came back the next day and rattled Federer.

"I would like to congratulate Juan Martin on an unbelievable tournament. I had a great one myself, too," Federer said, "but he was the best."

Somehow, del Potro never seemed intimidated by the setting or the man many consider the greatest tennis player in history.

The usually unflappable Federer argued with chair umpire Jake Garner during a changeover, using a profanity and saying, "Don't tell me to be quiet, OK? When I want to talk, I talk."

He also got steamed while up a set and serving at 5-4 in the second. Del Potro tried a forehand passing shot that was called wide, but he challenged, and the replay system showed he was right. Federer kept glancing at the mark the shot left on the blue court, even into the next game, and del Potro wound up stealing the set.

"That one cost me the match, eventually," Federer said.

Del Potro, meanwhile, managed to have the time of his young life, high-fiving front-row fans after winning one point, and reveling in the football-style serenades of "Ole!" ringing through the stadium.

"When I would have a dream, it was to win the U.S. Open, and the other one is to be like Roger. One is done," del Potro said during the on-court ceremony.

Then, addressing Federer directly, del Potro added: "I need to improve a lot to be like you. I'd like to congratulate you for fighting 'til the last point."

The 4-hour, 6-minute match was the first U.S. Open final to go five sets since 1999, and there were no early signs to indicate it would be this competitive - much less end with del Potro down on his back, chest heaving, tears welling, a Grand Slam trophy soon to be in his arms.

Del Potro is the first man from Argentina to win the U.S. Open since Guillermo Vilas in 1977. Vilas was in the stands Monday, sitting one row behind golf great Jack Nicklaus.

One simple indication of the difference in age and status of the two finalists: The 28-year-old Federer's guest box was full, with friends such as rock-star couple Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale, and Vogue editor Anna Wintour seated alongside Federer's parents, wife and agent. Only three of the 15 available seats were occupied in del Potro's box.

Federer took a 3-0 lead in 15 minutes, winning one point by racing about 5 feet wide of the doubles alley for a defensive backhand, then sprinting the other way for a cross-court forehand passing winner that he celebrated by yelling and shaking his fists.

He even took time to watch a replay on a stadium video screen. Not quite the sort of trick shot Federer pulled against Novak Djokovic in the semifinals - a back-to-the-net, between-the-legs, cross-court passing winner to get to match point - but pretty spectacular, nonetheless.

But del Potro eventually got going, swinging more freely and taking full advantage of Federer's serving woes: 11 double-faults and a first-serve percentage of only 50.

Used to traveling without a full-time coach, Federer generally is quite adept at making mid-match adjustments and dealing with opponents' switches in strategy. But it was del Potro who realized he needed to put full belief in the strength of his 100 mph (161 kph) forehands and not worry about too much else.

That tactic worked, and Federer never found a way to counter it, losing leads in the second set and the fourth set. He was up 5-4 in the fourth, and at 15-30 on del Potro's serve, Federer needed only two more points to equal Tilden's record.

Del Potro held steady there, and Federer would never come that close again.

While hardly a household name, del Potro was not an unknown in the tennis world. He burst onto the scene a year ago with a 23-match winning streak and four tournament titles in a row on hard courts, the surface used at Flushing Meadows. There also was a bit of a harbinger for this back when del Potro presented problems for Federer in the French Open semifinals in June, taking a 2-1 lead in sets before frittering that away.

Federer went on to win the title at Roland Garros, his first there, to complete a career Grand Slam and tie Pete Sampras' career record of 14 major championships. Federer then broke that mark by collecting No. 15 at Wimbledon.

Thanks to del Potro, Federer will have to wait for No. 16.

From mid-May until Monday, Federer had been 32-1 with four titles from five tournaments. Aside from the on-court success, Federer's 2009 included getting married and becoming a father - of twins, no less.

Quite a year. Still, one can't help but ponder this: No man has won even three straight major tournaments in a season - much less all four - since Rod Laver's true Grand Slam in 1969. Federer came close this year, his French Open and Wimbledon titles bookended by a five-set loss to Nadal in the Australian Open final and a five-set loss to del Potro in the U.S. Open final.

This U.S. Open was Federer's first Grand Slam event since his daughters were born, and he spoke proudly of quickly learning to change nappies and getting used to sleeping less.

"Right now, I'm just tired," he said after his loss. "I want to get a rest."

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Five-time champ Federer to face first-timer del Potro in Open final

And for his next act ...

Roger Federer punctuated his latest U.S. Open victory Sunday with a shot he called, quite simply, the greatest of his life: a between-the-legs, back-to-the-net, cross-court winner from the baseline.

A point later, with the crowd in hysterics and opponent Novak Djokovic still in shock, the world's top-ranked player closed out the victory, 7-6 (7-3), 7-5, 7-5, to move one win from his sixth straight U.S. Open title.

OK, who's got next?

Juan Martin del Potro is the lucky guy whose first career Grand Slam final will come Monday against Federer, who made his 17th in the last 18. Earlier in the day, No. 6 Del Potro beat No. 3 Rafael Nadal, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.

Fourth-seeded Djokovic fought for more than 2½ hours on a day that grew increasingly windy at Arthur Ashe Stadium, hanging with Federer and even grabbing two break points late in the third set to briefly see a glimmer of hope.

Some things, though, there are no answers for, and the winner Federer hit to set up match point was Exhibit A. It's the kind of shot every tennis player has tried - oh, a thousand times or so. The best player in the world practices it, too.

"A lot, actually," he said. "But they never work. That's why, I guess, it was the greatest shot I ever hit in my life."

Ahead 6-5 and 30-0 in the third set, Federer sprinted to the net to return a Djokovic drop shot, then Djokovic finessed a lob over Federer's head that bounced barely inside the baseline.

Federer had nothing to lose, of course, so he ran back and hit the circus shot, a ball that lots of players, especially at the highest levels, can get back.

But few can do what Federer did with his - i.e., hit a blazing winner that barely clears the net. Federer jumped and shouted. Djokovic could only stand there and smile. He reached in his pocket to find the ball he'd serve to bring the match to a merciful end - for him, at least.

"You just say, 'Well done,"' Djokovic said. "What can you do?"

This was exactly the kind of memory the U.S. Open needed after a weekend filled with rain delays and controversy.

It was, oddly enough, also two points before match point Saturday night when Serena Williams got called for a foot fault on her second serve, then unleashed a profanity-laced tirade at the line judge that cost her a point penalty, which ended the match.

On Sunday, while the Federer match was going on with Jack Nicholson, Paul Simon and Charlize Theron among the celebrities watching from the stands, the U.S. Open hit Williams with a $10,000 fine for that ugly scene.

Federer's shot - that was one-in-a-million.

"I don't want to mention the word luck, but I didn't have it today," Djokovic said. "That's why I'm a little bit disappointed."

Not that there wasn't plenty for him to get demoralized about before "The Shot."

Had that not occurred, the point that would have defined the match - and what it's like to play Federer - came at 5-all in the second set. Djokovic was a sitting duck at the net, yet somehow managed to get five straight reflex volleys back to Federer, who was standing at the service line, teeing off.

Djoko's final volley was a floater and he did what any smart guy would do: He stuck his racket between his legs, turned around and stuck out his rear - the tennis player's version of begging for mercy.

Everyone got a good laugh out of that one, but the mark Federer is leaving on this sport is very serious stuff:

• He's looking for his 41st straight win at Flushing Meadows.
• He's in his 21st Grand Slam final, a record.
• He's reached 22 consecutive Grand Slam semifinals, more than twice as many as any other man.
• He's trying to extend his own record with a 16th Grand Slam title, but first since his twins were born in July.

"Right now, I'm pretty relaxed," Federer said. "We'll see how it goes when the sun comes up. I'd like to keep this going. It'd be great to get my first Grand Slam as a dad."

Earlier, del Potro put on a show that was every bit as efficient as Federer's was spectacular, taking apart Nadal with a flurry of big serves and precise forehands.

Nadal finally acknowledged his strained abdominals were bothering him throughout this tournament, but didn't want that to take away from del Potro's fine effort.

"I'm going to repeat: He played much better than me, and for that reason he beat me," Nadal said.

No arguing that.

The sixth-seeded Argentine - the first man from that country to make a U.S. Open final since Guillermo Vilas in 1977 - kept Nadal pinned behind the baseline with a deep, flat forehand and a first serve he mixed at between speeds from the 90s to the 130s.

He is 0-6 lifetime against Federer and hadn't won a set until this year in the French Open semifinals. But, del Potro claims he is seeing the ball very well this week.

"Maybe my green eyes. I don't know," he said. "It's very tough playing against Rafa or Roger. But today I play unbelievable, and that was the key."

On this day, though - and during that one magic moment, especially - it was Federer who had a stranglehold on "unbelievable."

Men's doubles: Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes defeated Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Sunday to win the U.S. Open men's doubles title.

This marks the fifth Grand Slam tournament title for Paes and his second with Dlouhy. They lost to the American team of Bob and Mike Bryan in last year's U.S. Open final but beat them in the semifinals this year.

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