Justine Henin is out to prove that rankings don’t always tell the whole story. Henin, currently in the midst of staging a comeback in the WTP after a 20-month hiatus, is ranked 33rd on women’s standings right now, but her convincing win in the first round of action at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami on March 24 sent a statement resounding through the tennis circuit: Justine Henin is back.

After a disappointing second-round exit from the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, Calif. in early March, Henin bounced back from her recent loss to Argentina’s Gisela Dulko while rallying at the opening round of the Sony Ericsson Open. In just 62 minutes, Henin soundly thumped American Jill Craybas 6-2, 6-2, advancing to the second round of action in Miami, where she’ll meet No. 6 Elena Dementieva on the court.

Henin and Dementieva have provided some intense competition this year on the WTA, proving to be one of the hottest rivalries in women’s tennis this year. The two heavyweights previously met this year at January’s Australian Open, and the forthcoming rematch at the Sony Ericsson Open has made tennis tickets a hot commodity on the sports market this month.

Last time Henin and Dementieva met on the tennis court, the odds were stacked against Henin, the 27-year-old Belgian blazing a comeback trail after a premature Brett Favre-style retirement. Going into the Australian Open, Henin was playing in only her second tournament after announcing her comeback earlier this year, while Dementieva was coming off a huge win against No. 1 Serena Williams. Henin was all but expected to lose, but she waged war on the 28-year-old Russian in what ESPN commentator Chris Fowler called “perhaps the greatest second-round match in Grand Slam history,” defying odds and downing Dementieva 7-5, 7-6.
Dementieva now has a chance to rework the parts of her game that Henin, a former World No. 1, exploited at the Australian Open, and the Russian hotshot will certainly elevate her game as she goes into another second-round melee against Justine Levitra Professional Henin.

For Henin, the transition out of retirement isn’t fully complete, and as Reuters recently reported, she spoke of the comeback process and about her upcoming match against rival Dementieva, saying, “It’s been good to be back on the courts. I didn’t live this life for almost two years, so that takes a little bit of time. I’ve worked pretty good between Indian Wells and here. Now I’m going to have a tough round, tough match. That’s what I want. So it’s going to be perfect to test myself.”

While the Sony Ericsson Open is one Viagra Professional more battle to help test Henin’s strength in the early stages of her return to the game of tennis, the Belgian netter will be working toward a goal that goes far beyond the Miami tournament – namely, Wimbledon. Wimbledon is the one Grand Slam title Justine Henin does not yet have, but perhaps this year she’ll complete the ultimate package. Until then, Henin will continue to take smaller tournaments as stepping stones, and her upcoming Sony Ericsson Open match against Elena Dementieva will serve as a precise gauge to her progress.

Author Bio: This article was sponsored by StubHub.com. StubHub is a leader in the business of selling tennis tickets, sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets and special events tickets.

Category: Recreation and Leisure/Sports
Keywords: tennis, sports, tickets, entertainment