US OPEN

September 4, 2003

Justine Henin

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: I'm in confidence for sure. I am for the first time in a semifinal of the US Open. Like I said, I really never played well here the years before. This year is certainly different. I said that before the tournaments 'cause I'm getting more experience, I think that my game is more powerful than it was in the last few years. So it's good because I played really good matches from the beginning of the tournament. I'm happy with the level I play right now. It gives me a lot of confidence for sure.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: It's big, too. Jennifer is going to play tomorrow in front of a crowd. I mean, she's playing at home. They're gonna be behind her, I think. I totally understand it. It's very normal. For me, no, even if I'm the favorite on the paper because of the ranking, it doesn't mean anything. Jennifer is playing great tennis right now. She is in confidence. She looks like she doesn't play with any pressure, that she's free of that. She's playing very high level of tennis. She won in New Haven. She won her first tournament since a year and a half. It gave her a lot of confidence. I know that I'll have to play a great match tomorrow if I want to win.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Probably. For me, it's gonna be another tough match. But like I said from the beginning of the season, I stay focused on every match and try to forget everything else. Jennifer, like she said, it's a big match for her. It's not the end of the world. I mean, it's a big match because it's the semifinal of a Grand Slam. I'm getting more experience because it's my third semifinal already this year in Grand Slams. So we will see. It's very hard to tell you how it's gonna happen, how I'm gonna feel. It's good that I play in the evening because it's been very late every day since last week. So it's gonna be good.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: You know, I came here the US Open to win the tournament. I came here to give my best and give 100 percents. I played very well in the last few tournaments, especially on hard court here for the first time in the US. So probably people see me like one of the big favorites. But Jennifer is playing well right now, too. So, I mean, if I play good match, it could be very close. So we will see.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Uh-hmm.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: We try to forget that. I mean, I try to forget what happened in the past. It's just last time we played each other, I think it was in Dubai. I won in three sets. It was a great match of tennis. Jennifer was coming back with a high level of tennis after what happened in Australia. She started to play much, much better in Dubai. It was very good tennis. So, I mean, I know what I have to do, but when Jennifer is in confidence, you know, she's hitting the ball very hard and she looks like she's moving well right now. So it's very hard. I mean, every match is different. Tomorrow is gonna be another day. The past is the past. I have to be focused on tomorrow.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Yeah.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: No, it will be fun. I like to play in the big stadiums now. I was scared about this a year ago, maybe, because I wasn't used to it. But right now, I really enjoy it. That's great experience, you know, to play in these big stadiums against Jennifer tomorrow night. I think it's gonna be great. It's gonna be in the evening so I think it's gonna be amazing. I really -- I am very impatient. I want to be there already.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: No. I just want to sleep (laughing).