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INTERNATIONAL TENNIS HALL OF FAME MEDIA CONFERENCE

March 8, 2016

TODD MARTIN: Thank you, everybody, for joining us today. It's a pleasure to share this news of the Hall of Fame induction class of 2016.
This is the highest honor in our sport, recognizing a crowning achievement for these great athletes.
The amazing history of our sport has been riding the shoulders of the great champions through the years. At the International Tennis Hall of Fame our mission is to preserve the history of the sport, celebrate the great champions of the game, and to do so with the idea of making the sport a healthier sport worldwide.
Over 240 inductees from 21 nations have been inducted to date, and on July 16, in Newport, four more will be inducted.
Two of those players will be master players inducted posthumously, Yvon Petra and Margaret Scriven.
Yvon Petra was a Frenchman who most notably won Wimbledon after serving five years as a prisoner of war in Germany. Margaret Scriven, a British woman, accomplished a rare feat of back‑to‑back French Open titles.
Two recent players will also be inducted: Justine Henin from Belgium and Marat Safin from Russia.
Justine Henin was a world No.1 player for 117 weeks. She was the year end No.1 three times. She was a seven‑time Grand Slam champion. She won 43 singles titles in all. She was an Olympic gold medalist in 2004 in Athens. She was a Fed Cup champion with her team in Belgium in 2001.
An amazing career culminated with tremendous success, and now having a successful career in coaching, working with Elina Svitolina.
Justine, would you care to say hello, and we'll be asking you some questions in a little bit.
JUSTINE HENIN: Hi, everyone. Todd, thank you for the introduction. Very happy and honored to be with you today. Very glad. Thank you.
TODD MARTIN: Marat Safin was world No.1 for nine weeks and was in the top 5 for 119 weeks. A two‑time Grand Slam champion at the US Open and the Australian Open. Safin won 15 singles titles in total, and five of those were Masters 1000s. He and his teammates in Davis Cup won two titles over the 11 years of service to that team. Marat is now a member of the Russian parliament.
Marat, would you like to say hello before we start the Q&A.
MARAT SAFIN: Hello. Happy to be here and happy to answer all the questions.
TODD MARTIN: Justine, how about if you start. Tell us quickly how you feel about this amazing honor that you're going to be receiving this summer.
JUSTINE HENIN: Yeah, it's just fantastic. It's been a big surprise. It's an honor to be part of the game, of the history of the game. When you play, you don't really realize that, yeah, you're going to be part of the game forever. Now with this honor, probably more I realize that a little bit more.
I feel, yeah, grateful to the Tennis Hall of Fame. I feel grateful to my parents and to a lot of people who helped me through this amazing career I had, the talent I received.
I feel very, very honored for everything.
TODD MARTIN: Thank you, Justine.
Marat, how about you?
MARAT SAFIN: Also, hi, Justine.
JUSTINE HENIN: Hi, Marat. Good to hear you.
MARAT SAFIN: It's a huge surprise actually. First of all, it's amazing to be part of it, as Justine just said. Most amazing to be recognized that you achieved something in tennis, to have the honor to be in the Hall of Fame. It's a big thing for us.
Well, thanks especially to my parents, my first coach, then all the people who have been supporting me, who made a big thing out of my life because they really showed me a good life, for the coaches, for the friends, all the people that I met around the world.
TODD MARTIN: It should be noted that both Justine and Marat are the first inductees from their nations.
We'll go ahead and open it up for questions.

Q. Marat, in my country the greatest tennis center is named the Billie Jean Tennis Center, who is gay. Then our greatest American woman player ever, Hall of Famer Martina Navratilova, is a gay rights advocate. If there was a bill in the Duma which said, Hey, gay folks, you can't advocate for gay rights, gay lifestyle, and you voted for that, could you talk about that. I know this is for the Hall of Fame.
MARAT SAFIN: Thank you for the question. You started really strong, guys.
I was (indiscernible) all the people in the world, with all the choices, with all the lifestyles. There is nothing to do. But normally to make a big thing ‑‑ well, it is a big thing. But don't have to take it out of proportion because we are slightly different culture all over the world. Some people, they take it easier than others. Some countries are not ready for that, and need some time to transform and be able to be more open on this subject.
So it is how everybody wants to take it, especially in Europe and the States. We're just different countries, different cultures. Everybody has to be just understanding on this subject. It's very delicate.
For the Russian people, it's also very delicate. Of course, there will be a lot of controversy. Yeah, I think it will take some time to maybe change. Just depends how the people they want it.

Q. Is that something you would like to see at some point in Russian culture, gay rights?
MARAT SAFIN: Everybody has a choice. It's not just me, my point of view. It's the people, how they want it. They have the choice, they have the right. That's why it's called freedom.
Still young country. So it happens, I'm happy for anything, for all the people to be happy. If they can be free here, more than welcome. It takes time.

Q. Marat, if you could look back to the young Marat Safin and give him some advice and some thoughts, what would be your advice?
MARAT SAFIN: Difficult, because it wouldn't be me otherwise right now. I'm happy with myself the way I am right now.
If I would change something in my life at an early stage, I would be different person and I don't know if I would like myself right now.

Q. Marat, you said it was a huge surprise to be in the Hall of Fame. Some might be surprised by your surprise. Why is it a huge surprise for you, and how do you feel about your career when you look back? Do you feel like you fulfilled your potential on what you could do?
MARAT SAFIN: Thank you very much.
I have to say, the way I starting my career, I came from a very difficult country, difficult to come out of the country. No money. To come out of the country and start to play on the world level, I think it's a really big achievement.
Obviously back then I would love to win much more tournaments, more Grand Slams, more things in my career, but unfortunately I had a lot of injuries also. Sometimes probably I wasn't well‑prepared for what I was going through. I had lack of experience and slightly not the right decisions were taken.
Also surprised because Yevgeny Kafelnikov, I think he achieved more than me. I was surprised, I don't know, because for me he is better player. But anyway, thanks.

Q. Marat, if you're in the Hall of Fame, do you believe Yevgeny belongs in the Hall of Fame eventually as well?
MARAT SAFIN: I would love to see him there also because basically he was the first one who raised the level of tennis in Russia on a different level. He was the first one who won a Grand Slam event, he was a No.1. He won Grand Slams in doubles, singles, and Olympic gold medal. I think he deserves. At some point he is going to be inducted. It would be obviously a pleasure.

Q. Marat, the US Open was a place where you won your first Grand Slam. Can you talk about how special that tournament was for you in your career.
MARAT SAFIN: Well, that was an unexpected one first of all because I started the year dropping. I didn't win a match for seven weeks. I was not at my best at all.
By the middle of the year I was already 45 in the world. Then in one month and a half I managed to turn everything around and be able to win a US Open, especially playing really bad tennis and without knowing what you're doing.
On the way in tournament, I had some matches that I should have lost. But something helped me out. I won matches. I beat Todd Martin in the semifinals. Thank you very much, Todd, for that one.
TODD MARTIN: That was the one you were supposed to lose.
MARAT SAFIN: Exactly. I shouldn't even rise to semifinal. I should have lost to Pozzi.
Obviously, to play Pete in the finals, nobody expects to beat him because he's playing already on different levels. If he gets to the finals, he's unbelievable.
The name he has, playing in the States, all those goes against me. So probably that was also good thing because nobody expected anything from me and I could play my tennis and it turned out pretty well.
The only thought I had was not to lose too easy and to make a good show on the court. But to win, not even close.

Q. Justine, you also had such a remarkable career at the Open and a memorable semifinal match in 2003. Can you talk about that quickly.
JUSTINE HENIN: Yeah, it's been a lot of good memories in New York. It's been difficult beginning of my career to play over there. I wasn't feeling so comfortable. Then I won against Jennifer over there. It's been amazing. I had 22,000 people against me. After three hours of match, it was just an amazing match. I was cramping.
I started to feel more comfortable playing in that stadium. I won it twice. Probably one of the best matches of my career and something I will never forget, for sure.

Q. Justine, you had such a phenomenal record at all the majors and won the Olympics. You had the two appearances in the Wimbledon finals, going three sets both times, once with Venus and once with Mauresmo. Is that your lone regret? And for Marat, I want to get back to the Sampras US Open match. At the time you said that you thought you might never play that well again. It was an interesting comment from someone so young. As you look back, do you think you never did rise quite to that level again or was the Federer win at the Australian Open equal of what you did against Sampras?
JUSTINE HENIN: I'll go first.
Yeah, I wouldn't say it's a regret. It's something I've been thinking a lot, the only Grand Slam I didn't win. I'm not even sure I've been running after this. It was my dream to win one Grand Slam, it was my dream to become No.1. When I won the French Open once, I won it more. I started to won US Open, Australian Open, more French Opens. Then there was Wimbledon.
These opportunities I got, especially against Mauresmo, of course that match that I won the first set 6‑2, I was in control. I'm the kind of person who is looking after the perfection all the time, which doesn't exist for sure. But I see it as a good thing that there's something not complete in my career, so I can accept that. I gave everything I had in my career.
Of course when you look back, you always can say, Did I give my best? I should have done this. I should have done that. Yeah, it's no time to live with regrets.
I've been working a lot by visualizing everything I wanted to accomplish. Wimbledon, it was pretty tough for me.
So, yeah, it's still good memories at the end, especially that it's a long time ago already. But, no, I don't see it as a regret. I just see it as something that makes me, I don't know, not happy because I wish I could win it. But I have to accept that.
It's far away already. Now life has changed a lot and I feel so pleased and happy about everything I achieved in my career.
MARAT SAFIN: For me, it was the first match I played incredible tennis. It make such a big impact on me and my career, and I win the Grand Slam. Then after that US Open, I wanted to win more. That's why I was so anxious and started to see myself I could win much more of them.
Unfortunately I couldn't do it. Had two finals in Australia, one semifinal in Wimbledon, semifinal in Roland Garros. It was like a big change this match. It was surprising. I won a Grand Slam and I played the best tennis I ever could. Gave me a chance I could be No.1 and I could be at the top level.
I feel this way.

Q. When you beat Federer, how would you compare it?
MARAT SAFIN: It was different way, different match. It was more workable match because I had a lot of chances against Federer. With Federer, had a few close matches to beat him, and I never could manage it.
So I was so anxious to win this Australian Open against him. It made it much more tougher. Probably I didn't play like I played against Sampras, but also it was a different game, different player, different situation. It was much more workable.
The level of tennis, obviously it was, yeah, one of the best, or the second best match ever. It was more workable. That was pure just enjoyment. I didn't have to think even.

Q. Justine, you have a very powerful relationship with your coach Carlos. How are you bringing all of that to being a coach now?
JUSTINE HENIN: Well, the relation I had with Carlos for almost 15 years, it's been amazing. Not so many players can live this kind of experience like being so long with a coach.
I started with him when I was so young. I was just playing tournaments in juniors at that time, so I really had to build myself at that time. He is with Elina that has her coach. I'm just coming for a few weeks during the year. It's completely different in the way that she is top 20 already and I have to know her, yeah, not really find my place, but respect what she does already and just try to share my experience and my conviction of what she can do more or give more to her game, just try to get better.
It's really sharing my experiences as a top player. It was very different. I'm not really in the position of the coach here. It's just like trying to give my advices and share especially also mentally and emotionally the experience of at least a couple of important matches.
We're also different. Something that works for one player doesn't always work for another player. You have to adapt yourself to the personality of the player. Playing and coaching and giving advices is so different. What I learned from my coach was something amazing: being focused on the goal, trying to do everything to reach the goal, and being very professional, a lot of discipline, and a way of thinking positively, thinking with a lot of ambition. I think it's been something that I learned a lot with my coach. I've been so, so lucky of that.

Q. What are you able to bring to a player who is already formed like Svitolina?
JUSTINE HENIN: I will not give all my secrets today.
But, no, she has a strong relationship with her coach, too. She working for a couple of times already. It's, yeah, really dealing with the moment. Being 20 in the world is something great already. I think she has the ambition to get further. It's just my role to try to bring a few things, not changing everything for sure, because a lot of things are working. It's just trying to help her.
She's still very young, to get to the next step, sharing the experiences like I said. The way I can give it to her and the way she can receive it is something important, but also it's just the beginning for us.

Q. Could you both comment on the situation with Maria Sharapova with the failed drug test. And also, Marat, you are the first Russian tennis player included in the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Who, in your opinion, should be the second Russian player and the third one?
MARAT SAFIN: Ladies first.
JUSTINE HENIN: Well, I think it's not nice what's happening. I think we all a little bit sad and disappointed about the situation. It's never good for the game. It's never good for anyone, for the fans, for all the people that support the game and the sport. It's probably not good for Maria at the moment.
I mean, I'm not in the position to judge because it's not like we don't know. But, yeah, I mean, so many questions have to be asked. It's very difficult at the moment to give an opinion.
What I can just say is it's not good for the game. Rules are important, that's for sure. Rules have to be respected. That's the thing that we can say today.
But I feel a little bit sad about all this.
MARAT SAFIN: Well, like Justine said, it's not very nice first of all for the sport, second of all for Maria. The situation is pretty difficult.
But I think you have to understand that there are a lot of technical things, new things they put on the list. It can be a technical mistake also.
But depends how they take it, how they see the situation. I don't think it was bad intention, I guess. Well, I want to believe so. But I think it has to be resolved in some certain delicate way and not taking it in a different level, take it out of proportion, that's for sure, because otherwise it's not good for anybody. I hope everything will be solved in the near future and everybody is happy. I think it should be like this.
But, of course, rules are rules. That's for sure.
For sure, I would love to see Yevgeny Kafelnikov, for sure he deserve. I think Dementieva, she deserve at certain point. These two people, they've done really good for the world tennis and from a Russian point of view. I think that's the two people.
TODD MARTIN: This is part an administrative question and part a curiosity question. The Hall of Fame will display memorabilia and artifacts from your career this year. You both have the assignment of sending us some of the things that are important to you. Would you care to share what some of those items might be.
JUSTINE HENIN: It would be for sure, I was wearing my cap all the time. I don't know, I needed it to maybe protect myself a little bit from a lot of things, to get focused, I don't know. But I won all my Grand Slams with it. That would be for sure the first item I would send, yeah, to the museum, something that I think people will remember from me.
MARAT SAFIN: Well, for sure the racquet. I think it's very special racquet. The Prestige Classic 600, the classic. It was a difficult racquet to play. It's a very special racquet. You have to be a certain player to be able to play with this racquet. I think it made a big impact into the sport for anyone who played with this racquet.
It's a classic one so I think it should belong there.
I think the shoes and the T‑shirt from adidas, the two companies who have been supporting me from the beginning of my career. I am thankful to them for that, for believing in me, and being nice, being be part of the big family. I think they deserve and everybody should know they're very good companies. Thanks for supporting the Russian tennis and believing in it.

Q. Justine, you come from a relatively small country. You didn't have strong strokes. You had hardships early in your life. But you always said, Impossible is nothing. Talk to us about what you meant by that.
JUSTINE HENIN: It's pretty easy. It means that if we believe in our dreams, if we dream, believe in it, I think a lot of things are possible.
Impossible is something, is a campaign of adidas. I was lucky to support that campaign a few years ago. I think it really inspired me a lot because it's a little bit the story of my life.
Coming from a small country, but not being so tall, not being so strong, like for a lot of people life hasn't been so easy to me when I was young. Not a lot of people really believed I could, I mean, reach my goal because my dream was to become the best player in the world. It became my goal.
A lot of people thought I was a little bit crazy. But strongly, deeply I never really doubted about the fact that I could make it. I always say to the young people, Don't stop to dream, believe in your dreams, do everything you can to reach your dreams. It's very important. To me 'dreaming' is a word something very important.
That's what I mean by, Impossible is nothing. If we have a goal, we have to do everything to reach it.

Q. What went through your mind when your mother first took you to Roland Garros?
JUSTINE HENIN: I was 10. When I was watching that match, Graf against Seles, I was just a few meters from the center court. I said to my mom, One day I will be on this court and I will win the tournament.
She looked at me like, Yeah, yeah. You can dream a little bit.
But I was so convinced and determined. There was no question. That was my destiny.
When it happened, my mom wasn't there. She passed away. It was like a promise that I could take. So it was, of course, emotional, a very good memory for me.

Q. She would be pleased.
JUSTINE HENIN: I hope she is. For sure she would be so happy. She was a teacher, so school was very important to her. I mean, she was supporting me a lot in the fact that she was telling me, If you want to be going to play tennis like you do, it's okay, but you have to do it 100%. No matter what you do, you have to do it 100%. That's what I kept from her.

Q. Justine, we were talking about coaches. Amélie Mauresmo's name came up. Were you surprised that she ended up coaching the male No. 2 in the world and whether you would ever consider coaching a male pro yourself?
JUSTINE HENIN: Well, I think it's just great. I'm not really surprised about the success that they have together. Between a coach and a player, we talk about people. Meeting right people at the right moment, at the right place is something very important. I think it looks like it's working pretty good.
Amélie is a pretty smart person. She knows the game. She has strong personality. She was a very smart player also. I'm not really surprised about what she can bring to Andy.
When I heard about that news, I thought it was just fantastic because why not at the end. Not everyone maybe thinks that, but think I it's good to open the door. I don't say yes or no. But for me it's coaching a person. It's probably a different coaching. It's probably different situations. Different people need different things.
For sure, I mean, it's not that often that it happens, but at the end why not. I wouldn't close the door for this.
I had a couple request for coaching, but only girls at the moment. Who knows one day, we'll see.

Q. Everyone who appreciates the game thinks that your one‑handed backhand was one of the most beautiful strokes ever. We haven't lost it on the men's side with young players like Grigor Dimitrov and Dominic Thiem. Do you think it's too tough to play the one‑hander on the women's tour now? Do you coach it if it's possible?
JUSTINE HENIN: Well, I wouldn't change because of that. A one‑handed backhand, I will not change that, I promise.
I wouldn't say it's too hard now in the women's game because I think Amélie and I, we proved that even we were playing with Venus and Serena and many other pretty strong players, we proved it's not because of that. The game is going faster and faster, that's for sure. It's just that when you are a young kid, it's easier to play with two hands because you have more power. You start like this. Then it's very hard to change or maybe there's no reason to change.
I started one‑handed backhand. I don't know. Maybe because I was a big fan of Graf and Edberg, maybe it's for that. I worked on this technically, physically, and finally it could be powerful.
I wouldn't say it's too hard right now in the game. I just say it's not that often because it's probably harder at the beginning. When you are a young kid, you don't have the power. That took me a few years to really feel comfortable with my backhand.
Of course I'm very pleased when I see girls or men playing one‑handed backhand. But at the end it's not the only way to play nice tennis. There are many other ways to do it. Yeah, it's good anyway.

Q. Justine, so many fans will tell me that the era in which you reigned, were No.1, competing so regularly alongside Serena and Venus and Amélie, was the last great era of the WTA, that we're still waiting for something to match that era. Now that you've had some time away from it, what set that group apart? What do you think made your era of tennis different? What was it that attracted fans into the game watching you battle it out so regularly?
JUSTINE HENIN: Yeah, it's a question that has been asked a lot in the last few days, but I'm not sure it was the last very good era of the game. We will see good tennis for sure in the future. That's not a question.
I don't know what made that generation special. Inspiration I think is something that is very important. I was really inspired. I think it's the same for all the girls that I played against and with in my generation. We were looking at our idols with a lot of respect. We were trying to take a lot from them and get the inspiration.
I still hope that the young players now can still do it and get inspired because it is very, very important. We were not playing probably that much, but we were trying to focus and to put the goals. I don't know. It's very hard to say.
Probably also from the next generation, what's going to be hard is the society is changing a lot. We have a lot of distractions. I don't know if we all can be as focused as we were in the past because things are going so fast, communication is changing a lot. A lot of things are changing and we have to adapt ourselves.
Still at the end we need people to be inspired by. I hope that the new generations still get the inspiration from other players. I think it's something very important.

Q. So many of the current players who are a little bit shorter always cite you as being a big role model for them, how they try to play the game. It's been a bit of time since we've had a smaller Grand Slam champion. Do you think it's harder these days to play the style of tennis you were so effective with or do you think there are other differences that drive that?
JUSTINE HENIN: No, I don't think it's harder today than it was when I was playing. These girls have to believe that they can make it. I think it's a question of confidence also. It's been tough for me to play against the tall players, come on the court and play against Serena who was so powerful against me, against anyone. The difference was huge.
But I always thought that I could use my qualities. I was quick. I could anticipate the game. Finally physically at the end I worked very hard and I could compensate. I mean, I wasn't as powerful, but I could use other parts of my game. I think some players can do it, they just have to believe that they can do it. It's very important to trust yourself and to push the limits.
I mean, the limits are only the limits that we accept. I'm sure that a lot of girls, if they trust themselves a little bit more, they can achieve more. Of that I am pretty sure.
TODD MARTIN: Thank you, Marat and Justine. Congratulations again. Especially thank you for sharing your stories of perseverance and self‑belief on the call. Everybody make note that Rolex Hall of Fame Enshrinement Weekend is July 15 through 17 this summer. I will take this last moment to thank everybody for your participation and interest, for all your efforts in chronicling the history of the sport each and every day.

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