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Difficult situation Henin's estranged father cheers from afar
Updated: Sunday July 08, 2001 2:36 PM
ROCHEFORT, Belgium (Reuters) -- Justine Henin's 82-year-old grandfather died on Sunday morning just hours before she played in the Wimbledon final, her father said, but she was protected from the news until after the match. Jose Henin, who is estranged from his 19-year-old daughter, told Reuters that Georges Rosiere died of a heart attack. "He was her greatest fan," said Jose. Justine was overpowered by defending champion Venus Williams of the United States 6-1, 3-6, 6-0 in the final. Jose said he and his daughter had grown apart after the death of his wife Francoise from cancer six years go. "I'm distant from her now, following my wife's death even more so," he said. Justine is reluctant to talk about the family split which came last year. Before the falling-out, Jose had traveled with his daughter, but now she travels with her coach Carlos Rodrigues, and occasionally fiance Pierre-Yves, who was courtside on Sunday. All Justine says is that she does not talk to her father. The estrangement had been hard, Jose said, "but Justine's results show that was what we needed, that it was the right thing to do. "She's a lot more independent now and I'm a lot more calm." Wise beyond her years, Henin has suffered more than her fair share of heartbreak. Her mother's death was a trauma which almost ended her tennis ambitions before they had got off the ground as she had to look after her two brothers and younger sister. "It was really, really difficult for me to play after this," she says. "I think when my mother died I became more mature than I would be if she was still here." Francoise had been a major influence in Justine's tennis and one particular moment stands out for the 19-year-old. "My mother had taken me to Roland Garros when I was 10," she recalls. "I saw the match between Steffi Graf and Monica Seles in a big final in 1992. "I was in the stadium and I said to my mother 'I will play on this court one day.'" She fulfilled her promise in 1999, five years after her mother's death, when she played Lindsay Davenport in the second round at Roland Garros. She came mighty close to winning, bowing out 7-5 in the third set. "When I played there it was fantastic and I thought about that moment [with my mother]," she says. Jose watched his daughter's Wimbledon final with 500 friends and neighbors at the local sports hall in Rochefort, a town where the entire Henin family lives. The partisan audience was in a festive mood at first but turned somber as their girl was beaten. "We're right behind her because we know how young she is and that she has the future in front of her, when she'll certainly win one, if not more, Grand Slams," said Mayor Francois Bellot. The 19-year-old Henin is the first Belgian to reach the Wimbledon singles final, but she is not the only Belgian to have done well this year. Last month Kim Clijsters became the first player from Belgium to reach a Grand Slam final when she was runner-up at the French Open, having beaten Henin in the semifinals. "They're a real force to be reckoned with for the future," Henin's father said.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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