Justine Henin’s Australian Open preparations have received a boost with a wildcard to the Medibank International in Sydney.
Henin will now be competing in Brisbane and Sydney ahead of the first major of the year which begins on January 18th.
The Medibank International will provide a good indication of Henin’s current form, whether she possesses any realistic chance of challenging for the Australian Open. Unlike Kim Clijsters who had a month of tournaments before her successful US Open campaign, time is not on Henin’s side.
However she will definitely be competitive against a lot of the top twenty as she showed earlier this month, defeating Flavia Pennetta and Nadia Petrova in exhibitions.
The Medibank International boasts a super strong field with Serena Williams, Dinara Safina, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Caroline Wozniacki all scheduled to compete. Henin will obviously be unseeded, meaning there is the prospect of some fascinating early round match-ups.
Henin is a three time former Sydney champion, capturing the title in 2004, 2006 and 2008. "The women's draw is very impressive and it will be great to get some tough, competitive matches at the Medibank International Sydney before heading to Melbourne," she said.
