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By Lauren Lynch
Photo Credit: Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
(May 25, 2010) Paris isn't her home, but Justine Henin made her French Open return a happy homecoming today.
Playing her first Roland Garros match in three years, Henin stretched her winning streak in Paris to 22 matches with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova.
Before a sparse early-morning crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier, Henin won her first match since she crushed Ana Ivanovic, 6-1, 6-2, in the 2007 final.
"It was very emotional," Henin said. "I never expected to come back ot this center court. It's a dream for me to come back here."
Henin has won 36 consecutive sets at Roland Garros; she has not lost a set in Paris since Svetlana Kuznetsova nearly knocked her off in the 2005 fourth round before falling 7-6(6), 4-6, 7-5.
It wasn't a flawless performance for Henin, who was playing her first clay-court match of the season beneath the sun. Henin beat Samantha Stosur to win the Stuttgart title on clay earlier this month then lost to eventual-champion Aravane Rezai in her first match in Madrid. All seven of Henin's prior clay-court matches this season were played indoors (Madrid's retractable roof was closed for her three-set loss to Rezai).
Adjusting to the elements and a hard-hitting opponent took some time. Henin broke in the eighth game and seized the first set in 47 minutes.
Pironkova hit her way to a 3-2 second-set lead and had triple break point, at 0-40, on Henin's serve.
That's when the 22nd-seeded Belgian began to find the range on her brilliant one-handed backhand. Henin unleashed a backhand winner into the corner to erase the third break point and that shot sparked a run that saw her win four consecutive games to secure a spot in the second round.
"The first round is never easy," Henin said. "Physically, I feel much better than I did in Madrid so I am happy to get through."
Next up for Henin is a second-round match with Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic. Zakopalova zapped Katarina Srebotnik, 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-2.