	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

PACIFIC LIFE OPEN

March 13, 2006

Justine Henin

INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA

THE MODERATOR: First question for Justine.
Q. Were you in a hurry?
JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: I was, yeah. No, the wait has been very long today. It's been a very long day, too. Very long matches before me. Then we have to play three days in a row. I will have to play tomorrow. So it's good to be quick.
But in my first two matches, I've been very focused on every point and try to save my energy for my next match. I'm very happy about that.
Q. Was it as easy as it looked?
JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Yeah, it was -- I played very consistent, and I had to play consistent because these kind of girls, if you just give the opportunities and the rhythm. I mean, I don't have to hit too hard against these kind of player. They like the rhythm, always play the same kind of ball. I just try to mix it up a little bit.
I served pretty well. So very happy.
Q. Do you think one of the things that has made you so successful on the tour is that you're one of the few people that does change speeds, does have other weapons other than hitting the ball hard?
JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Yeah, I really don't have the choice if I want to be at this level. I don't have to hit the ball so hard, like Davenport or Sharapova or the others, because it's not the way I'm going to beat them for sure.
I'm moving well. I'm quick. That's probably my biggest quality. Then I have a good defense. I can use a lot of weapons in my game, and they probably don't like it very much.
If I just play like them, hitting the ball so hard, the rhythm, for sure I lose, so I have to use something else.
Q. I guess I'm not even surprised that you do, and I'm surprised that other people don't, but do you get surprised and say, boy, if somebody would just change speeds a little bit, it could make life a lot easier...
JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Probably, that's for sure. That's why the comeback for Martina is good for the game. It's a little bit a similar game as mine. That's good. We can have different kind of games on the tour. That's very good for the crowd. It's good atmosphere. It's very important.
But, yeah, just right now the tennis becomes very powerful, and we hitting the ball harder and harder and harder. I'm not so tall, I'm not so strong, so I have to do something else. That's why I love to play tennis so much, is because that's the kind of game I love to play.
Q. Has any player on the tour approached you and said to show you a bit about this?
JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: No, no, no, I don't think so. But it's very normal that the others don't come to me. I don't go to them when they're doing something. I would like to do the same.
No, it's just so personal. Everybody tries to do their best. I mean, we all have different qualities. We all try to use them, do the best on the court, try to give good matches to the crowd.
Q. You must like the court here.
JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: I do, yeah.
Q. 2004, you didn't lose a set out there, I don't think.
JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: No, that's right. But, no, the speed is good for me. It was pretty similar in Dubai. But it's hard physically for the players, for the back. It's very hard because it pretty slow. You have to do a lot of efforts. But for my game, it's pretty good speed.
Q. I noticed you kind of taking care of your shoulder before you served a couple times.
JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: It's a routine I have to do just to warm it up a little bit after my returning game. I stay in the rhythm. Yeah, it's a problem I'm very concerned about. Now it looks better than a few weeks ago. I think we just on the right way.
Every day there is something else. You know, we have pain everywhere. It's the life of the athletes. It's very normal to get the injuries and everything. But when you can control them, it's pretty good so you can keep playing.
Q. It's not a hundred percent, but it's better?
JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: It's better, yeah. No, it's not hundred percent for sure. No, I have to take care of it. I will have to take care of that during my whole career because that's something that will never go away. I will have to be careful. I know what the problem is and I work a lot on it.
Q. Same thing with your hamstring?
JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Yeah, yeah, I do, exactly. But for my hamstring it's very different because it was a tendonitis that came and now it's going away, I mean, not easily. Normally it's going away.
But a shoulder is a problem I have for five years. It's a chronicle (sic) problem. That's more complicated than that. But when you had so serious injuries, you have to take care of yourself. That's normal.
Q. This tendency you're talking about, about players getting taller and taller, if you look in the future, will it be balanced or progressive, Sharapova, Ivanovic, take over?
JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: I don't know. I'm not thinking that much about that. I hope the game is not going to get more powerful and more powerful. For sure we have a lot of things that help us to improve. I mean, the racquets, everything, the way we train. We all become stronger.
But, yeah, I don't know what's going to happen for tennis in the next few years. It's improving so much. The intensity is very high. The only thing that I'm concerned about is how long can you play at that rhythm. That's the only thing. I mean, now it's hard on the body. You get injuries and everything. It's so intense that it's very hard to have a long career. But that's the goal and the big challenge for me.
Q. Isn't your success and Martina's success proof that you don't have to be tall?
JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Martina and me, we have to be 200% all the time. We have to be fit. We have to move well because, I mean, we're not tall at all, and we just have to be, yeah, fit all the time. As soon as I have a little bit injury, I cannot run the way I want, it's no way for me I can beat these top players because I need to be quick.
That's great that we can prove there's something else than hitting the ball very hard, yeah.
Q. So you get no free points; the rest get free points and a big serve?
JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: I think we can get that. I mean, I can serve pretty hard. Not now with my shoulder. But I think I serve very fast in Australia and everything. So I could get free points.
But you have to work more because you have to do maybe two more steps than the tall girls. It's just you have to be fit. I lost a lot of weight to be quicker and move better on the court. I'm not as massive as I was in the past. I'm early on the ball, and that's very important during the rallies.
Q. Before you hurt your shoulder, you were hitting serves up around 112, now it's like 106, 108, is that right?
JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: I don't know, in kilometers, I know it. It was 195. I don't know in miles how it would be. Probably 116, 117, I guess something like that.
Q. So you lost six or seven miles an hour?
JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Yes. Probably a little more than that, yes. Yeah, it's just to protect my shoulder. It's good because I will try to have a higher percentage and be more regular on my first serve. That's very important.
Now that I feel my shoulder is getting better, I think it's the right way to think and to act in my next few matches.
Q. Regarding taller players, imagine when you started, so body told you, despite your talent, you're not tall enough. Appears we have taller players on the female side right now. Is that happening that some coaches are saying you're not tall enough?
JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: I mean, for women's game is not such a big deal. I think in the men's game it's probably harder. But I think some people didn't believe in myself at a certain point because they were saying I was very fragile, not strong enough. So, yeah, but I don't have any revenge on that. I mean, I just have to prove things to myself. And I proved that there's something else than being tall and hit the ball very hard, which is very good for the game. It's not something wrong with that.
It's great to have different kind of personalities and different kind of styles of game. That makes the game very exciting. It's good.
Q. Are you happy with where your game is right now?
JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Yeah, I'm pretty happy the way it's going for me. I know I can improve. In every match, that's what I'm going to try to do. Especially in the beginning of a tournament, you need to go step by step. You need to find your confidence and you need to find a rhythm and get used to the conditions of the tournament. It's good.
The beginning of the year, I've been very consistent. I won a lot of matches. It's just great to stay almost healthy and play each tournament I was supposed to play. So I hope it's going to keep going for me like this. The main goal is to stay healthy. It's my biggest challenge right now.

End of FastScripts...

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297