PACIFIC LIFE OPEN

March 16, 2004

Justine Henin

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Justine.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: It was a tough match, I agree. It's been a good test because, I mean, she pushed me a lot and, you know, she's a young player, she has nothing to lose. She proved in the last few days that she's very good player. I knew that, and I have been very focused. In the first set, I played a very good first set. Then I lost a little bit my concentration. She was playing better. I was too far from my baseline. Then I know I had to keep fighting to break back. That's what I did. It give me a lot of confidence to finish the match. Many positive things. But I have to take care of my concentration a little bit more.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Oh, yeah, she has very good groundstrokes, and she wasn't afraid at all. She wasn't nervous. I just saw that she was nervous when I broke her back in the second set, which is normal. But, no, she's a very good player. She was serving pretty well, actually. A lot of high percentage of her first serve. It was difficult for me. I knew I had to break back as soon as possible in the second set.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Oh, I think that's pretty normal. I've been in this situation many times in the past. Now I have to deal with that. I have to keep the control of the situation. It's not easy every day. No, you know, a player who is coming from the quallies, who beat a lot of very good players, it's always dangerous for a player like me. I have to be focused and really serious in my match to win it.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: A lot, yeah.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Him and Agassi are my favorite players. I think I watch them a lot. I watched the match this afternoon. And I learned a lot of things. I'm very impressed the way Federer is playing right now. The confidence he got, I think now he is the best for sure. He's playing unbelievable tennis. He believes in himself. It's going to be tough for the others, I mean, to come back on him in the ranking. I think that he's going to have a pretty good season if he keeps going on this way.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: About Andre, I always loved to watch Andre playing. I mean, it's unbelievable, the timing he has, he's taking the ball so early, he's changing the directions all the time. I mean, it's an unbelievable tennis. Great champion. That's all I have to say. It's that simple.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Yeah, I like this kind of situation. In Doha, it's been a difficult match for me in the sense that I started to play in the second set, and I wasn't ready to play this kind of match. I played really good in Dubai, but it's been tough in Dubai. Kuznetsova is in confidence right now for sure. She's playing a great tennis in the last few weeks. It's going to be a very good test for me. It's going to be a different situation, you know, in a big tournament.

We will see. But I like the situation. I like the revenge.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Oh, I mean, in Doha I for sure didn't play my best tennis in the sense that she dominated the match from the first point until the end. And I had many, many opportunities, but mentally maybe I was a little bit tired. And I wasn't supposed to go to Doha. You know, when I'm not ready to play a tournament in my head, sometimes it's hard when I'm in the situation that I have to play well in the important points. Here it's different. I feel good in the tournament. I really enjoy my time here. I enjoy being on the court. I'm very excited about this next round.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: I think that's really good news that she's coming back. That's great for everyone, for the people that are coming to watch tennis, for the WTA, for the players, for everyone. I think it's going to help everybody. It's going to be a lot of motivation for all the players to see her coming back. I'll look forward to play her on clay, for sure, because I won't be in Miami.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: I improved a lot, for sure. You know, I just try to do the best as I can. I'm working hard. I enjoy my tennis. No matter who's in front of me, I'm sure it's going to be tough when I have to play against Serena again, because I don't know at what level she's going to come back. I'm sure she's going to come back really strong. But we will see. We will see what's going to happen. It's been very hard to say. It's been hard for Venus the last few you weeks. Coming back after a few months off, it's not easy for everyone. We'll see for Serena.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: I don't think too much about that right now. It's something that I just try to enjoy everything that happens in my life. I feel much more confident. I feel that I have more experience. I feel more powerful. I have more titles. Everything. I mean, a lot of things have changed. But Serena is a great player. She won so many titles. She's a champion. When she's going to come back, it's going to be -- I think she will want to win a lot of tournaments. We'll have to be ready for that.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: It's a little bit late. But, no, it's a different atmosphere. I mean, in the past, two years ago, I would say to you, "I hate playing in night." Then I just got used to it. Because when you seeded, usually you play in the night. Like at the US Open, I played very late. And now I like the situation. I think it's a very special atmosphere. That's good. In the tournaments, I don't need to sleep too much because, you know, I'm very excited during the tournament. I'll take some rest after the tournament.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: We just worked a little bit differently for sure in the last winter in Saddle Brook in the sense I'm playing more aggressive, I'm going more to the net. So for sure physically we did everything for help me to go to the net. So a different kind of exercises. Same idea, just hard work. That's the only key.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: You know, you have to make choice in your life, in your career. For me it's a choice. Amelia Island is just a week after Key Biscayne. For me, I like to play on clay court. I want to be ready for sure for the French Open. And I need a couple of tournaments. It's my favorite surface. That's just question of choices. Two big tournaments in a row, I think it's a little bit too much.