Henin and Borg Return to Paris
One of the unique traditions at the French Open is that former champions present the trophies to the winners. At the U.S. Open and Australian Opens, trophies are usually presented by the tournament directors and sponsors while at Wimbledon, the Duke and Duchess of Kent have historically “done the honors.” In 2008, recently-retired, Justine Henin, presented her successor as French Open Champion and new World Number One, Ana Ivanovic, with the trophy. On the men’s side, Bjorn Borg walked onto the
clay center court at Roland Garros for the first time since his playing days and presented Rafael Nadal with the trophy as Rafa won his fourth consecutive French Open title equaling Borg’s record. Although it somehow felt a little surprising to see Justine Henin right back on center stage at a Grand Slam only a couple weeks after she’d announced her desire to “leave the game” immediately, perhaps this was part of her segue into retirement. In contrast, it was wonderful to see Borg back in the place where he played some of his best tennis… alongside the current king of the clay courts!
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