Dec. 29, 2007 - It may be the year of the Golden Slam for tennis in 2008 and realistically only one women player is in the running. Justine Henin finished the year as clear No.1 in her sport and is set to dominate again.
What, you may ask, is a Golden Slam? It’s winning all four Grand Slam events plus Olympic gold in the same calendar year. And it’s is a huge challenge.
To date only Steffi Graf has achieved the rare feat in 1988 when tennis returned to the Olympic fold in Seoul. Since then, in Barcelona (1992), Atlanta (1996), Sydney (2000) and Athens (2004) - no-one has come close.
The 25-year-old Henin won the French and US Opens in 2007 to break clear of the chasing pack and put her on top of the rankings. But she slumped badly at Wimbledon and that will be her biggest challenge once again as well. Her long-time coach and mentor Carlos Rodriguez says they are fully aware of how taxing the year is likely to be for her.
Who her main rivals will be remains to be seen. The Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, are major threats, especially at Wimbledon, while Maria Sharapova and Amelie Mauresmo can both trouble her if they are fully fit. But it is maybe from rising Serb stars Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic that the main threats to Henin’s predominance will come.
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