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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 29, 2010

Justine Henin

MELBOURNE, VICTORIA

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. What were you doing this time last year?
JUSTINE HENIN: I think I was in Congo for UNICEF at the same time, yeah. I think it was really this timing, maybe two, three days ago, I don't remember. But, yeah.

Q. You weren't watching tennis?
JUSTINE HENIN: I wasn't. No, I wasn't. My mind was somewhere else. At that time I could never think that a year later I would be in this final. It seems a little bit unreal 'cause, yeah, I was so far away from tennis a year ago, and I was living just an amazing other experience. A lot of things happened.
I feel great to be in this situation again, of course.

Q. You got through your semifinal pretty quickly. Are you feeling fresh?
JUSTINE HENIN: Feeling better. I can't say that I'm sleeping very well in the last few nights. But it was the kind of match I probably needed, as I struggled a little bit physically in the last few matches. Today I hit for an hour, went to the gym, worked a little more. I needed to push myself a little bit more.
I'm feeling better. My muscles start to recover. My body starts to recover a little bit. Of course, tomorrow with the tension and everything, the situation of a Grand Slam final, I'll have other things to deal with.
But just try to enjoy the moment, this day off, and try to prepare the match a little bit more tomorrow than today.

Q. You said you didn't sleep very well. Surely that's not from nerves?
JUSTINE HENIN: When you have a lot of fatigue, especially at the end of a Grand Slam, you never sleep that well because that takes a lot of energy, and you always still a little bit focused. So that's quite normal. I'm used to it. We all used to it. So we fine with that.

Q. You played Serena so many times before. Does it feel any different coming up against her in a Grand Slam final?
JUSTINE HENIN: Well, of course, it's a special occasion. But I see it as an opportunity to play the No. 1 player in the world in a Grand Slam final. It's more than a dream for me. It's a perfect challenge. And I love this kind of situation.
We had great battles in the past. We played our best tennis when we played each other. At the beginning it was quite difficult for me to face Serena. Then slowly but surely I could change it a little more. The last time we played each other wasn't a really good memories in Miami.
What I hope is we gonna be in a very good level, both of us, so we can produce a good tennis, and the best will win.

Q. What is the key to beating her?
JUSTINE HENIN: Well, yeah, I'm not going to talk much about that here.
But I think it's gonna be really mental. I mean, the one who will want it more will win probably. She served great, of course, in the last few matches, always on the important points. I know I'll have to be aggressive generally and use my qualities. I have the determination and the ambition, of course.
What I know is that I'm gonna have to be at my best, play my game, and then we'll see.

Q. Do you think Serena has improved since you were playing her in '07 and '06?
JUSTINE HENIN: I don't know. I don't know. I didn't see her. I didn't watch her enough to talk about that. Just a little bit in this tournament. But in the last two years not at all.
So I think, I mean, we still all growing up, you know, in a certain way. So probably she improved. Of course, we all improve and grow up. But I didn't watch her enough to really talk about that.

Q. Could you say who is the biggest fighter out of the two of you?
JUSTINE HENIN: Well, she proved that she is a real champion and a real fighter. And I did also earn my way and proved also in the past that I can come back from any situation. That was the kind of match I really love.
So it's great when you have two fighters on the court that never give up. And I hope we gonna find this attitude, this mentality, so we can give something else.

Q. Yesterday Serena described you as a calmer presence on the court than she is, but she said you're more intense. How do you describe her standing on the opposite side of the net?
JUSTINE HENIN: Well, uhm, she is a really aggressive player. But I say it in the positive way. You know, she wants to win every point. She's really focused. She's really intense. We probably have a little bit the same qualities in that part of our game.
So, you know, you have to put the pressure all the time because even if she's down - and she proved it against Azarenka a few days ago, she was really in trouble at that time - but you know it's never over. So every point counts, both of us. That's going to make the difference also, you know, in our match, to be able to be focused, really aggressive, intense, and keep the pressure and be consistent.
So, yeah, she pushed me in the past to be at my best, of course, and I'm sure it's gonna be the case again tomorrow.

Q. The 2003 French Open was a really big deal at the time. She said things which were quite strong words. At what stage did you get the feeling she was no longer holding anything against you for that incident?
JUSTINE HENIN: You know, it's far away now. It's a long time. We exchange a few words here. There is a lot of respect between the two of us, a lot. And I think, yeah, it seems long, long time ago. So I'm sure there's no problem about that between the two of us.
We both want to win. We both respect the fact that the other gave a lot to the game, and that's very good.

Q. Since you were sitting here yesterday, have you allowed yourself to reflect what's gone on the last couple of years?
JUSTINE HENIN: Well, I'm very focused on this moment, so I didn't. Since yesterday, I don't have a lot of things more to say about that.
Very happy to be here of course. I realize that I'm back in a Grand Slam, so that's an amazing feeling. But except for that, it wasn't a time for me to think about anything else. I just enjoy the moment.
I know where I come from. I know I did a long way in the last few months. Taking my decision to stop two years ago and to come back, I think it's been two of the best decisions I took in my life. So that's a good thing.

Q. Are you embracing the opportunity differently this time around?
JUSTINE HENIN: Well, of course it's an opportunity, and I see it as something great. But I know also it's not my whole life. You know, there is something else than that. If I can get another Grand Slam title, I will take it, of course, as a bonus, and I want it. But I feel more mature about that.
I don't know exactly how I'm going to feel before walking on court. I wouldn't say it's something new for me. But since I'm back, it's pretty new, and it came very quickly. I have to deal also with that, that I thought it wouldn't come that early.
But I enjoy the moment because I feel happier than in the past. So, of course, that changes a lot of things.

Q. Before you retired, playing in a Grand Slam, it felt more like your whole life than it does now?
JUSTINE HENIN: Well, it was everything, you know, for me before. It's not the only thing in my life right now. I mean, I learned a lot of things. And it's my job. It's my passion. It was the best I could do to come back. But I know it's going to be a tennis match. And in another way I know the way for me is still very long to come back at my best level, to be able to express the very best I have. It's going to take probably a few months.
I know now what I have to work on when I'm going to go back home. That's also good. If I can go back with the title, of course, I say yes.

Q. Do you feel better physically than 2006 when you had retire?
JUSTINE HENIN: Yeah, it was a bad memory. I wasn't in good shape. I was feeling very sick that day. Took me a few weeks to recover from that. And my stomach has been quite sensitive since that problem because it's been quite a serious issue. Things are different now. It seems so far away. It's only four years ago, but it seems really far away. A lot of things happen since that.
So feeling much better. Gonna be careful about what I'm going to eat tonight. But that's it.

Q. What percentage are you back to your game? Are you 80% or 90% to where you want to be?
JUSTINE HENIN: It's very hard to say. I hate to talk about a percentage, what I can do, what I can give, because it's very hard. One day you feel great, and then the other day, even if you're not feeling at your best, I mean, the best you have, you need to produce it.
It's my point of view that even if I'm not feeling hundred percent, I have to give everything, you know. So I know it will take probably a few more tournaments, a few more months. The mistake I don't have to make now is to think, Okay, now I have to go faster, play more.
I think I have to take my time also after this tournament to work again physically and take my time and be ready in the big occasions. It's going to be also my goal this year. So we have to be smart about the calendar and everything, so I'm healthy and really well-prepared in a few months.

Q. Is it a plus that you're going in unseeded on the comeback, that the expectations are probably not there that would have been if you were No. 1?
JUSTINE HENIN: Well, when you have to play Dementieva in the second round, you're not happy that you're not seeded. That was the worst thing for me to play I think the best player I've played in the last few matches in the second round. So that wasn't easy.
But you have to take the situation as it is, and that's what I did. I wouldn't say I didn't expect to be here, but I was just trying to play match after match because I knew every match was going to be difficult. You build great things slowly, and that's what I did in this tournament again. There's one more to go now.

Q. Is it a plus for you going into the final?
JUSTINE HENIN: Doesn't change anything at the moment, no.

End of FastScripts

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