Former world number one Justine Henin on Monday said tennis had helped her recover from difficult times in her personal life, including the loss of her mother at an early age.Speaking after a hard-fought 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 battle against India's Sania Mirza, the seven time Grand Slam champion said tennis had provided her with the emotional means to recover from the dark moments in her life.
"It's helped me a lot in my life," she said. "It's very difficult all the time to find a good balance, because sometimes you have to be so focused that everything that happens in your personal life you keep it away a little bit.
Henin was just 12 years old when her mother died of cancer. She split from husband Pierre-Yves Hardenne in 2007 - the same year her brother was seriously injured in a car crash.
She then shocked the tennis world by retiring in 2008 before returning to the sport early last year.
"(Sport) gave me so much strength after I lost my mom and everything," she said.
"I got the fire when I was on the tennis court. It helped me a lot not to forget about the hard times but to find a sense to my life. That's what tennis brought me."
Henin said playing sport at a high level constantly pushed a person to their limits.
"It's very good, but it's very hard in a lot of ways because it's a lot of pressure that you have to deal with," the 28-year-old said.
"It's a beautiful life - it's not an easy life, but I think we are all very lucky.
"It's just very important to never forget that we are people before we are athletes and if you find this balance, well, that's the best."
Henin, the 2004 Australian Open champion, had needed all her legendary fighting qualities to subdue an inspired Mirza in 2hr 12mins.
The 11th seed looked on track for a straightforward win when she served for the first set at 5-4, only to allow Mirza to come back and win the next three games to clinch a pulsating opener in 60 minutes.
Henin came out firing at the start of the second, breaking Mirza immediately and opening a 2-0 lead.
Mirza broke back to level the set, but Henin came again, breaking the Indian's serve twice more to wrap up the second set and get the match back on terms.
An increasingly confident Henin stormed away with the third set to take the match and move into a second round clash against British hope Elena Baltacha.
"I think I needed this kind of match to really get into the tournament," Henin said. "I have the experience, but I need matches, I need rhythm, and I need fight, like tonight.
"And I remain confident, not only about the tournament but for the future."
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