Wednesday, May 14, 2008  Quitting while she's ahead: Henin says
goodbye  About a week ago, I asked "What gives with Henin?"
Today I am here to ask the same thing. Henin retired, effective
immediately, from professional tennis today, only a couple of
weeks before the start of the French Open, and without winning a
career Grand Slam. She has left the tour, she said, because "I
was at the end of the road," meaning it was just time for her to
move on.  Only that sentiment does not really jive with what we
know about Justine Henin--that she is one of the most driven
people in pro tennis, maybe in all of pro sports. A likely fifth
French Open title was days away, and the elusive Wimbledon title
seemed to be less elusive than ever.  On the other hand, it may
be her very driven nature that caused her to believe she could
not go on another day. It is generally acknowledged that it was
most likely over-training led to a compromised immune system
that, in turn, led to Henin's contracting the terrible virus
that kept her