A look at Justine Henin's incredible French Open career

Roland Garros is the favourite Grand Slam of countless tennis enthusiasts, many of whom fell in love with the sport thanks to seeing some legends of the clay court dominate at the French Open. Belgian Justine Henin is definitely one of those legends, winning the tournament no less than four times at senior level.

Henin displayed her class on clay from a young age onwards. In 1997, she took the French Open juniors' title under the guidance of her coach Carlos Rodríguez.

The 2001 French Open was the first time Henin really made a name for herself in the women's senior circuit. She went all the way to the semi-finals, beating Russian Lina Krasnoroutskaya in the quarter-finals.

In the semis, Henin was up against her fellow countrywoman Kim Clijsters. Henin won the first set, but it was Clijsters who eventually took the win. A disappointing result for Henin, but the future looked bright.

In 2002, Henin returned to the French Open with high hopes, but those hopes were already dashed in the first round. Henin was knocked out in the very early stages of the tournament, losing to Hungarian Anikó Kapros.

In 2003, Henin would take revenge for her disappointing result the year before. She made it to the final, knocking out Serena Williams in the semi-finals in three sets. That same year, Kim Clijsters won her semi-final, making it the fist all-Belgian Grand Slam final ever.

Henin did not let her nerves get the best of her and beat Clijsters in two straight sets (6-0, 6-4), winning her first-ever Grand Slam title. It would prove to be only the beginning of a wonderful French Open story for the Liège-born former tennis player.

Henin returned to Roland Garros in 2004 as the defending champion, but things did not go as planned for the world No. 1, who had been severely affected by a virus and an immune system problem. This resulted in Henin losing in the second round, against Italy's Tathiana Garbin.

Henin recovered shortly after that and managed to shine on the Athens Summer Olympics. She won the gold medal, beating France's Amélie Mauresmo in the final.

Henin returned to Roland Garros in 2005 with renewed energy and a clear goal: to win her second French Open title. Svetlana Kuznetsova and Maria Sharapova, amongst others, could not stop her from reaching the final.

Mary Pierce was Henin's opponent in the final, but she did not stand a chance against the Belgian's classy and varied play. Henin took her second French Open title after two straight sets (6-1, 6-1).

2006 was as successful as 2005 for Henin at the French Open. She made it all the way to the semis without losing a set. Her next victim was Kim Clijsters, who had to acknowledge Henin's superiority after two sets (6-3, 6-2).

In the final, Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova was Henin's only obstacle toward a third French Open title. The defending champion, however, kept her cool and won comfortably with 6-4, 6-4. With her third title, Henin equaled Monica Seles, another French Open legend.

The next goal in Henin's career was a clear one: to win the French Open three times in a row, something only Seles managed to pull off in the open era.

Henin cruised through the tournament in 2007 and reached the semi-finals quite easily. Serbs Jelena Jankovic and Anna Ivanovic were the only ones who could still stop Henin from winning her fourth French Open title.

Henin, however, just went on with what she's good at: winning. She beat Jankovic in two straight sets in the semi-finals, and in the final Ivanovic too was no competition for Henin, who took her fourth French Open title without losing a single set.

With her four French Open titles, Henin deserved herself a spot in Roland Garros history. Only Chris Evert and Steffi Graf were more successful on Parisian clay, but Henin's triumphs make her unique in her very own way.