OLYMPIC TENNIS TOURNAMENT

August 21, 2004

Justine Henin

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English for Justine, please.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: I think I still not realize right now. I need a little bit of time to realize what happened tonight. But I can tell you it's totally different from a Grand Slam. I cannot tell you if it's better or not because it's a different feeling. I think it's been a great atmosphere the whole week. I had good feelings the whole week. Still, a month ago, I didn't know if I was going to be able to come here, and now I won the gold medal. Now I can say that a lot of players have to dream about winning an Olympic gold medal because it's a great moment in your career.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: No. I think I played really bad and I'm not happy at all (laughing). No, I think I played a really good match tonight. I was really aggressive, but I was patient also. I think that tactically I did a perfect match. And I returned pretty good. I served well. So there were two keys of the match. I'm happy to win it in two sets.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: I don't know. I can tell you honestly that I was dreaming about Grand Slams for sure. But now maybe I change my mind tonight because it's different. You feel like you playing for whole country, for, you know -- you play for the colors of your country. That's something really different. When you in a Grand Slam, you alone. Here all the Belgian athletes were here, all the Belgian team was behind me. That's big support. And you never have it in a Grand Slam. It's different.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Yeah, I think my opinion is totally different right now. I'll go in four years, I hope (smiling).

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Yeah, no, probably more before the match. I think during the match, everything happened pretty good. Nothing during the match. I was feeling very nervous. I was feeling that I took the control of the match, so it was very good. But I was a little bit not afraid but nervous before the match because I didn't sleep very good last night and then it's been long wait, the men's match before, before us. So it was long. It was three and a half hours they played. So it was difficult because I was really tired from yesterday, but I think -- well, you could see and I proved that physically I could recover in 24 hours, so that's very good. During the match I was really aggressive. I came to the net. I served well. I returned really consistent. So I think all these things helped me to win the match.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Actually, I didn't think about that. I was fine physically and mentally after a slightly difficult beginning physically. I think at no moment did I have any doubt during the match. Everything happened very well, very fluidly, from the beginning to the end. I felt the victory was mine, not before the match, but once I'd started, got into the first set, I knew that something extraordinary was going to happen this evening. I had a good feeling about it.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: No, I don't think so. Some time ago, perhaps I was in a young category or the Fed Cup, but I still have a little difficulty realizing what I've actually achieved. But I think to receive this medal, it's a very moving and key moment in somebody's career - without any doubt.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: I think when I was called to the podium, that was the most beautiful moment because that's when you really realize that you've really done it, that the medal was mine, that I'd done it, that I achieved it. It was a very beautiful moment, not just the result, because you also -- it was also a very good week. I realized I was in a good state of health, which is the most important thing for me currently. And then the first day that I arrived here in Athens, I felt that the conditions, all the conditions I needed were there. During the week, I felt enormous pressure on me, and I did everything very conscientiously. I was very professional to an extent that I've really been in the past, in fact. It was a very positive week from every point of view. I think being at the Olympic Games for me was a way of restarting.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: No, I don't think so. I think at that moment you don't really understand what's going on. But I didn't feel that it was too fast. I've won Grand Slams in my career, and at Roland Garros it seemed to be very rapid. I thought that in the future I'm not going to do that, I'm going to make sure that I experience and relish every second. But that's life. Tomorrow's a new day. I've got other big events awaiting me. It's true that one has a tendency not to concentrate on the present moment.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: At school, like everybody, and I've got a good memory. But, fortunately, nobody heard me because it was catastrophic.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: I don't know who told you I was going home at 7 in the morning. I don't know how things are going to go now. I don't know. We're going to see how things go.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: No, not at all, because to me this is another stage. It was my comeback. I was reassured on a whole series of things, but other aspects need to be improved in my game. I think I'm going to learn a lot from this week on an emotional level because I've understood this week how much, how important it is to be in a good state of health. It's a very moving moment because after you come back to the sport after months of pain, when it's difficult for you to imagine the kind of states of depression I went through, I realize how fortunate I am just to be able to be on the court. So I'm really glad to have had the chance to be able to give myself 100 percent. When everything goes badly, you hold on to what you can as a consolation. When things go well, one takes things for granted. It becomes banal. I'm really going to realize how fortunate I am to have had victory at the Olympic Games.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Physically, I felt fine. I didn't have any really major physical problems. I think the match yesterday was very difficult, two hours and 45 minutes. But despite the (inaudible) I managed to recover fine tonight. There were no signs of fatigue. Now it's up to me not to go too fast. I'm only 22. It's true that a lot has happened to me in a year and a half. I also need to protect myself from certain aspects because I think everything that I do, apart from tennis, also takes a lot of energy, so it's up to me to set up my own barriers.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Well, I've learned a lot about myself because I've changed in my way of interacting with other people. A few years ago I would have been unable to live an experience like this because I was far too introverted, too closed in on myself. But now I enjoy contact with other people. I've had a lot of really positive interactions with other athletes and I think we've got a great deal of solidarity within the delegation. That's one of the advantages, a huge advantage, because there weren't that many of us in the Belgian delegation, so we really got to know each other very well. I think everybody participating at this level gives it their best, and I've been very fortunate. I think other people have put in the same amount of effort, but they don't get the same public acclamation. They put all their physical efforts in, they sacrifice, and I also take my hat off to all those people for that.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Because this person for me is a very important person since I arrived. I was very glad to see her at the village. I saw her on TV, at the qualifications. I was really marked by this person. I know to what extent she was really pleased to come here today. She had never seen a tennis match directly and I know she was very pleased and I was very pleased for her.