Wimbledon now the objective for clay queen Henin-Hardenne

By Bill Scott Jun 12, 2006, 13:55 GMT

Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium holds the winner\'s trophy after her straight sets victory over Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia in the women\'s final for the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, Saturday 10 June 2006. Henin-Hardenne has won the French Open for the third time. EPA/OLIVER WEIKEN

Paris - Any possible dreams of modelling or a career in show business are far off the radar of Justine Henin-Hardenne as the three-time French Open champion goes in search of the Wimbledon trophy missing from her collection.

The Belgian lifted her fifth major title at the weekend with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova at Roland Garros.

While some of her competitors are sidetracked by contracts and glamour which is increasingly becoming a part of the sport, Henin-Hardenne revels in the purely competitive aspect.

'I'm very different from a lot of players. It's good to have different kind of personalties and different kind of styles of game in the women's tennis. I think that's very important.

'I'm not gonna stop playing tennis, it's not in my personality,' she said. 'I keep saying I want a long term career.

'If I want to do this, I have to stay healthy. To stay healthy, I have to take the good decisions. That's going to be very important for me.'

And with just one week free before her start on the grass at Eastbourne, Henin-Hatdenne is already plotting strategy for the annual change of surface.

Unlike clay, where it all comes easier for her, the world number 5 - a 2001 Wimbledon finalist - realises the grass is a completely different challenge.

'At Wimbledon, it's another story for me,' she said. 'I'm not as familiar with the surface as here. I'll see what I can do.

'I'm dreaming of winning Wimbledon one day. It would be the cherry on the cake. We'll see what the future will say. I have a few years ahead of me.'

Henin-Hardenne has won titles at nearly 20 percent of the Grand Slams she has entered, her five in hand coming from 26 starts.

The Belgian was the first champion in Paris not to lose a set since Spain's Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, another hat-trick holder, did so in 1994.

And her three trophies put Henin-Hardenne onto a short-list of five-time Grand Slam winners including Martina Hingis and Venus Williams.

Henin-Hardenne was the first woman to back up a title at Roland Garros since Steffi Graf in 1995 and 1996.

'I would like to again win the French Open, several times in the future,' said the repeat champion. 'But the only thing that counts is working every day, daily work.

'Of course you need to have ambition, but you have to remain realistic. The daily work is very hard. I think very few people can realize that.

'I'm going to try to enjoy my tennis, to enjoy being on the court in good health, and we'll see what the future has for me. I have many years ahead of me, I hope.'