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Justine Henin-Hardenne arrived in the big league in May 1999 when she crushed Sarah Pitowski 6-1, 6-2 to win her first WTA Tour singles title in Antwerp. Remarkably, the Belgian was making her debut on the senior tour and, in winning the tournament, she became only the fifth person (at that time) to win a Tour event at the first attempt. That same year, Henin-Hardenne made debut appearances at the French and US Open’s – winning her first match at a slam at Roland Garros; defeating Kristina Brandi 6-4, 6-2. It would take Henin-Hardenne almost 20 months before she would follow-up on her early success and win another tour event.But in January 2001, Henin-Hardenne captured a second singles title on the Australian Gold Coast by beating Silvia Farina Elia of Italy 7-6 (5), 6-4. Just one week later, the Belgian had taken her title toll to three by blasting her way to glory in Canberra. En route to winning the tournament, she comfortably saw off Chanda Rubin, Magdalena Maleeva, and Sandrine Testud in the final; all without dropping a single set. Henin-Hardenne’s scintillating form stretched into the first week of the Australian Open where she reached the fourth round. She came within a whisker of reaching the last eight at the expense of American legend Monica Seles, narrowly losing in three tough sets 6-4, 4-6, 4-6. By the middle of the season, Henin-Hardenne was regularly making appearances in the latter stages of tournaments – proving her early season form had been no fluke. Henin-Hardenne reached the semifinals at the French Open, before losing out in three sets to Kim Clijsters - another Belgian tennis superstar in the making. A week later, Henin-Hardenne avenged that loss by beating Clijsters in the final of the Ordina Open in the Netherlands. She would put that tune-up on the grass courts of s-Hertogenbosch to perfect use in London in the coming fortnight. After toughing out a 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 win over Kristie Boogert in the second round of Wimbledon, Henin-Hardenne would go on to reach her first Grand Slam final at the historic All-England Club. Sweeping aside Jennifer Capriati in the semifinals, Henin-Hardenne advanced to a final against Venus Williams – but struggled to contain the powerful American on the fast grass court surface – loosing in three sets. The year 2002 saw another two singles title bagged with title winning successes arriving from appearances in Berlin, and at Linz. Henin-Hardenne returned to Wimbledon by reaching the semifinal, after reaching the quarterfinals at the Australian Open earlier in the year. This was all a prelude to an unforgettable season in 2003. The year started consistently enough for Henin-Hardenne with semi-final appearances at the Adidas International in Sydney and the Australian Open. Back in Europe, Henin-Hardenne was a losing semi finalist again in Antwerp – outdone by Belgian rival Kim Clijsters. A week later, however, saw Henin-Hardenne lift her first silverware of the season with a 4-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5 win over Monica Seles in the final of the Dubai Duty Open. Further titles were won in Charleston and Berlin in the lead up to the second Grand Slam of the year. Here back at Roland Garros, things finally clicked for Henin-Hardenne on one of the biggest stages in world tennis. In the semifinals, she bettered Serena Williams 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 to book an all-Belgian final with Kim Clijsters. Henin-Hardenne then held her nerve the better in a tense final to deservedly clinch the first Grand Slam singles title of her young career. Serena Williams was to avenge her defeat at the French Open by beating Henin-Hardenne in the semis at Wimbledon. Still though, Henin-Hardenne landed her second singles Grand Slam title in New York by winning the US Open, again at the expense of Belgian compatriot Kim Clijsters. (Both Venus and Serena Williams were absent through injury.) Henin-Hardenne also topped the world rankings for the first time, albeit for just one week initially. By virtue of winning the Swisscom Challenge in Zurich, and reaching the semis of the season-ending tour championships, Henin-Hardenne finished the year ranked number one in the world – just ahead of Kim Clijsters. In all, Henin-Hardenne won 8 singles titles in 2003, including two grand slams, as well as making semifinal appearances at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon. To cap things off perfectly, Henin-Hardenne was named the “Sanex Hero of the Year” for 2003 by fans world-wide voting en-masse in an Internet poll.
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