Henin feels right at home at Roland Garros

Two years after she walked away from the French Open, four-time champion Justine Henin returned to Roland Garros last week, busily renewing friendships as well as a bizarre dressing room ritual.

"I went to see the place with my locker in the locker rooms where I had won the last time. It's the sort of good luck charm for me," said the Belgian, playing her first French Open since winning the last of her four titles in 2007.

"But the most emotional thing was to meet people again, see the same people working for the tournament, with whom I had created some friendly relationships. Also to come back to clay here, which is the best clay ever."

Henin's love affair with Roland Garros is well-documented. It was the place she visited as a child accompanied by her mother whose death, when she was just 12, left her devastated.

The former world number one won the first of her seven Grand Slam titles in Paris in 2003, but when she called it quits in 2008, she was adamant that the adventure was over.

But just like compatriot Kim Clijsters, the 27-year-old Henin realised there was unfinished business, most notably the giant hole in her CV where she believes a Wimbledon title should be.

Despite retiring as the 2007 winner, Henin insists that she does not feel like a defending champion - Ana Ivanovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova have succeeded her although neither has kicked on.

"It's long ago that I played here. It's three years that I won the title here. So, I don't have this feeling. It's just great to be back."

This French Open will be Henin's second Grand Slam since her return to the game, having reached the Australian Open final in January where she lost to old rival Serena Williams.

Adding spice to her return to Paris is finding the top-seeded American in her part of the draw where they could meet in the quarter-finals.

To help her cause, Henin is counting on local support, never slow in coming forward to aid a fellow French speaker.

"I practiced on Court No. 1, and I remembered that 13 years ago I won the juniors here.

"Also, I feel at home here because the French crowd always welcomed me incredibly well, and many Belgian people come because it's close," said Henin.

"So when you are at the other end of the world in Australia you feel more isolated, whereas I feel here I'm surrounded by many more people. This can be a driver for me."

In the claycourt season so far, Henin has won the Stuttgart title before a surprise first round exit in Madrid, her form hampered by recovering from a broken finger on her left hand as well as a sudden bout of sinusitis.

The splint on her finger will be in place for at least another two weeks, although with the hottest one-handed backands in the business, it won't be a problem.