In 2004 the Olympics returned to its spiritual birthplace, Athens, and after three successive gold medals, the United States’ stranglehold on tennis at the Games was finally loosened by a brilliant Belgian…

Athens, Greece, 2004
Athens Olympic Tennis Center
Hardcourt

There is a school of thought that suggests peaking for a big tournament is all about preparation; carefully choosing how much to play and, more importantly, when, in order to maximize the chance of success.

In Athens, Justine Henin threw that theory out of the window.

Coming into the tournament on the back of a 10-week layoff due to a mystery viral infection, there were plenty of questions surrounding what sort of shape the World No.1 was in.

Answers from the early rounds were inconclusive – Henin was rarely forced out of first gear, sweeping past her first four opponents without dropping a set.

In the semifinals, though, any lingering doubts were well and truly extinguished as she battled life and limb with the mercurial Anastasia Myskina for nearly three hours, recovering from 5-1 down in the third before finally triumphing, 7-5, 5-7, 8-6.

Twenty-four hours later she had to drag her weary limbs back on court to face World No.2 Amélie Mauresmo.

Remarkably, there was not a hint of fatigue in her play, as she skipped across the baseline, her elegant groundstrokes at their fluent best. Instead, it was Mauresmo a step off the pace, chasing shadows as she was pushed one way, then another.

After just one hour and 15 minutes, Henin had arrived at match point. Fittingly, it was another textbook point that won it for her – a crisp backhand drive down the line, setting up the easiest of overheads, which the Belgian gleefully accepted to become her nation’s first female gold medalist in 20 years.

“I can tell you honestly that I was always dreaming about Grand Slams,” Henin said. “But now maybe I change my mind tonight, because it’s different.

“You feel like you’re playing for the whole country, for the colors of your country. That’s something really different. When you’re in a Grand Slam, you’re alone.”

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