Serena Williams pushed Justine Henin to be a 'better player'

Serena Williams VS Justine Henin has been a clash that no one has wanted to miss over the years. From the semi finals of the French Open and Wimbledon in 2003 to the Australian Open final in 2010, this rivalry has been one of the biggest in women's tennis over the years.

Henin explained on Eurosport how the rivalry with her and Serena has helped her excel within the sport,

"Of course she has been a big part of my career, because she pushed me so much to become a better player,”

“She was my biggest challenge, like many other players, and I feel really grateful and happy that I could be a part of it with Serena, with Venus, with all these champions. But Serena of course, mentally challenged me a lot during my career, and she made me win big matches a couple of times."

The rivalry between them has created many captivating moments such as this one that Henin is reminiscing,

“I have one memory against Serena - I have many memories - but, I was coming back on the tour in 2010, playing the final of the Australian Open and I was winning 1-0, 15-40 in the third set. And then she served four aces in a row, four serves that were almost 200km an hour. We all know that when she’s under pressure her character, the champion she is, can come back from anything. So yes that’s how she built her career"

Henin also gave her say about the end to Serena William's successful career,

“It was a big celebration for her and I’m happy for her that it happened this way. It would have been tough to see her not being able to compete in the first round. This was really special and in the end she lost in the third round. She could have won one or two more matches and then who knows what would have happened."

“But in the end the celebration was huge and it’s been a fantastic story for the tournament and a nice way for her to walk away.”