OLYMPIC TENNIS TOURNAMENT

August 20, 2004

Justine Henin

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: If I say stupid things, forgive me tonight (smiling).

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Yeah, at that point of the match, you don't have anything to lose. I gave already everything physically and mentally before this point of the match, so I had nothing else to do than playing point after point. And at this time of the match, I think I was very calm, very quiet, I could play my game. But she played an unbelievable tennis. At the end of the second set, at the beginning of the third, she was playing very fast. She wasn't making any mistakes. It was a high rhythm. It's not easy for me that I'm coming back. But I fought to came back in the match, and I don't know how I did, but I won it.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Yeah, but, you know, at this point of the match, I said, "Okay, it's only a match. It's a tennis match. It's important for sure." But I gave my best, you know. I didn't want to do these mistakes, this two double-faults at 5-4 in the second. Then I just tried to stay positive. But it's true that these kind of matches that I had in Australia and at the US Open helped me to believe that any match is over until the last point is done.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: It's an amazing feeling. It's something great. You cannot compare this to the atmosphere in a Grand Slam. When you saw the Belgian people, the Russian fans and all the crowd, I think it was great atmosphere. It's very nice to play this kind of match. That makes the sport really magic. So it's very good feeling. I'm very proud of what I did today. Any way, I'll have a medal tomorrow. I hope it's gonna be a good one.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Yeah. I think that I started to be tired in the middle of the second set, but I think it was probably more mentally. But I was running a lot, that's for sure. I gave a lot of things in the first set. We were, both of us, were really nervous at the beginning of the match, so I lost a lot of energy because I was nervous at the beginning. And then in the third set, I was tired for sure, really tired, like I was probably at the US Open last year. But that's okay. You play point after point. She started to make mistakes because probably I played a little bit slower and she was also, I thinnk, nervous to win the match. So it's great comeback. I'm happy that I saw that physically I, you know, I played the whole match 100 percents. I don't know how I'm gonna be tomorrow. That's the big question. But right now I just try to enjoy my victory today.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Oh, anyway, I'll go on court and give my best, that's for sure. Even if I am 100, 80 percent I'll give my best. I don't know how I'm going to feel. I'm sure I have the possibilities to recover. I did it in the past. Now that I'm coming from my infection, I didn't play a lot of matches, so that's normal that I'm feeling tired. But I have no answer right now. We'll see tomorrow.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: I'm gonna sleep tomorrow morning, I promise (laughing), like I did at the US Open. It's not as late, so that's pretty good. But, no, I'll do everything I have to do to recover - massage, a lot of drinks, eating good, and then sleep, I hope sleep well. It's hard for me to sleep after this kind of match. It's late already and probably I'm not gonna sleep before one or two in the morning. I'll see how I'm gonna recover. I have no answer. But I hope I can do as good as I did last year in the US Open.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: That's great. That's perfect situation. I love this kind of situation. I love this kind of test that I had tonight. But tomorrow is gonna be another day, another opponent. If it's Amelie, she's great player. She's in confidence right now. She played a lot of matches. She won a lot of matches in the last few months. So it's gonna be another tough mission for me. It's gonna -- it depends how I'm gonna recover physically and mentally - and emotionally, too - because it's a lot of things tonight. But anyway it's gonna be tough match for me tomorrow, but I'm sure I'll give everything I have to win it.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Yeah, on the paper. But everyone knows that on the court it's something different. If she's in the semi, and if she qualifies for the final, it means that she's playing great tennis right now. Maybe the pressure is going to be a little bit higher in this situation, but I'll try to forget it because from the beginning of the week I just went step by step, I played every match 100 percent, and then not thinking about the future. So I'll see tomorrow night.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Oh, I don't know. It's something that I -- I think it's something that you have but you have to work on it, for sure. I think I've always been strong mentally but I had to work on it emotionally. It's very hard to control your emotions to, you know -- sometimes in a match everything is going so fast and you need to keep your time, you need to take your time between points. That's what I'm trying to do - take my time, forget about everything else, just being focused on my goals on the court, what Carlos ask to me, I just try to stay focused on that. But I think some players are very strong mentally; some of them are not. It depends of every player. But you can work on it for sure, but I'm not going to tell everything (smiling).