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BNP PARIBAS OPEN

March 12, 2010

Justine Henin

INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA

G. DULKO/J. Henin
6-2, 1-6, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Would you say that there's still some rust on your game?
JUSTINE HENIN: Well, of course. It's only my third tournament, so it was a tough day today. I agree. I've never really been into the good rhythm, and never really, yeah, found my way to win this match.
Even in the second set it was better, but still a lot of ups and downs. So, you know, it's only an hour after the match, so it's still very early to talk about that. But, yeah, that gives me -- proves that I have a lot of things to work on. That's what I'm going to do in the next few days and few weeks.

Q. Did you feel like your serve let you down more than any other shot, or was there anything else you weren't happy with?
JUSTINE HENIN: No, it was just generally I think I never really, like I said, found the good rhythm. She was playing quite high balls also, and I've never really found a good timing. So I wasn't consistent enough.
I mean, that's very simple. This kind of -- it's a bit off day, and you have to deal with it.

Q. What does this mean? Back to Florida and more work?
JUSTINE HENIN: More work, of course. Next tournament is going to be Miami, and we have 10 days now to really work and just try to analyze what happened here and just try to get better for the next tournament.

Q. You dug out of some holes in Australia. Why weren't you able to dig out today, would you say?
JUSTINE HENIN: Um, in Australia it was different, of course. It was my first tournament, and here I come with another kind of expectations, and so I have to -- everything is still pretty new, so I have to deal with it.
It's going to take a while, probably, a little bit of time to really get used to these new situations. I think it's much more emotional than really talking about tennis, and so it's pretty normal.
I accept the situation. I knew it could happen, and you need to, I mean, stay positive in all kind of situation and work harder for the future.

Q. You had trouble managing your nerves points in the match.
JUSTINE HENIN: Yeah, it was difficult for me today. That's what I'm going to have to work on especially.

Q. Similarly, could you talk about the emotions you're feeling? You've had great success here, but still it's coming back to a big tournament in the United States. What emotions were you feeling?
JUSTINE HENIN: Yeah, it's disappointing tonight of course. I wanted to have a good tournament. It's a place I like a lot. It's a tournament I like a lot.
But still, it's good to be back. I'm going to have another chance in two weeks, so I remain positive about that. And I'll come back to Indian Wells next year.

Q. There's a tournament they play in London on grass. Talk about that. Is that sort of your goal, your fixation?
JUSTINE HENIN: It's one of the goals. But still, and especially now, it's very hard to talk about that. It's still pretty far from now. Of course it's a dream, but I know I'll have to work a lot. I still have a lot of things to fix in my game.
And grass, it has never been my best surface in the past. But who knows what can happen? We'll see in a few months.

Q. I guess it will be good to have a ranking soon.
JUSTINE HENIN: It is, yes.

Q. That's a positive, eh?
JUSTINE HENIN: It is.

Q. What are your goals for the year?
JUSTINE HENIN: It's still a year of transition, you know. It's a year of my coming back. And I think, like I said, at the beginning of the season, I need a few tournaments and probably a few months to really be at my top.
So, I mean, the goals are very simple: To try to stay healthy, try to enjoy what I'm doing, and win as many matches as I can. But in another hand, I know it's going to take a little bit of time, some patience. It's not my biggest quality, but I'll do my best.

Q. Is today really your first setback since your comeback?
JUSTINE HENIN: Well, I don't have to look at it this way. I mean, everything -- you can learn something from any experience, and I'm sure it's going to give me a lot of good things, you know, in a few days when I can look back and just try to realize what really happened. I am sure I'll take something good from that.

Q. You mentioned that patience wasn't your best quality. What is your best quality?
JUSTINE HENIN: Well, I hate to talk about my best qualities, but I am passionate, and of course I'm going to work a lot. I'm a real fighter and never give up in my life, not only on tennis courts.
So I'm sure that's going to give me a lot to work on the next few days.

Q. It looked like almost you were mad when you walked off court. Was it that disappointing to lose or frustrated or...
JUSTINE HENIN: Well, it's never easy, of course, and today was difficult time on the court. But it's part of our life, you know. You have good times, you have bad times, and it's part of it. We have to accept it.

Q. I know the comeback is still very early, but are the losses now as hard to take as they were the first time you went around?
JUSTINE HENIN: I'm a real competitor, so of course. Yeah, of course. I learned a lot of things in the past from my losses and difficult ones, and I'm sure it's going to be the same thing in my second career.
So, yeah, like I said, you have to accept it and work for the future.

Q. What psychological thing do you do when you know you're not playing well, not in the groove? What do you use to get back to the form that you desire?
JUSTINE HENIN: Yeah, you just try to stay focused, you try to play point after point, and you try to remain focused on what you have to do tactically and just try to control your emotions. It's not easy. I mean, it's easy in press conference when I have to say that to you.
On the court it's much harder because you have an opponent and she wants the same thing as you want. It's a real fight. So you just have to try to stay calm. That's for sure. It hasn't been that easy for me today.

Q. In Australia you talked a few times about your attitude change away from the court not being so -- I think you said something about you hope you don't go crazy again. Is this a test for that now?
JUSTINE HENIN: Well, I don't know. I think that really I grew up a lot off the court, so that's a very good thing. I mean, the fact that I win or lose doesn't have to change that, of course. So I'm pretty fine with that.

Q. Do you think, in some ways, you might have been more relaxed about your game and your expectations going into the Australia Open than you were coming in here?
JUSTINE HENIN: Of course, yeah. It's normal. Didn't know really what to expect over there, and more pressure here. That's normal. I mean, I'll have to get used to it. It's another situation, and I'll have to deal with it in the next few weeks now.

Q. You took your break, and then you come back to the tour. Was there anything that has surprised you about your play and your return?
JUSTINE HENIN: Well, it's been a lot of good things since I am back, of course. Just the fact that I can share a lot of things with the fans and the emotions we can give to the crowd and everything, it's just fantastic.
I found my routine pretty quickly also. The routine I got in the past came back very quickly. Yeah, a lot of positive things.

Q. How difficult is it going to be to switching gears and playing again in a few minutes or a few hours?
JUSTINE HENIN: Well, it's going to be a very nice moment. I mean, of course I would have preferred to walk on the court winning today, but it's going to be an honor to play with these real legends. It's going to be a good thing for me.

Q. Especially now that you've taken a few years to take off time with the tour, are there any young girls who you think are going to rise to the challenge this year and compete for the top?
JUSTINE HENIN: There is a lot of concurrence, and there are two generations, I think. The oldest one, I say I'm part of it, and the youngest one that is coming.
It's going to be interesting, and very exciting for all of us, yeah.

Q. Steffi's going to be with us. When you saw her forehand when you were a young girl, what were your thoughts about that incredible shot?
JUSTINE HENIN: Yeah, I mean, she was one of the best we've seen on the tour. But just the way she was on the court generally, the attitude and a real champion, she gave me a lot.
She's still my idol and inspiration, and an example, so it's going to be great to play with her tonight.

Q. When you spoke to us the other day, you made the point that the serve historically has been difficult for you.
JUSTINE HENIN: Uh-huh.

Q. In this match, you only were at 50% of your first serves and you were broken six times. Might you be so mindful of the problem with your serve that it's becoming a problem for you, or an increased problem?
JUSTINE HENIN: I don't think it's always been like this in the past, so I don't make it a big deal right now at this moment. It's just generally. I mean, so I don't make a big deal on that right now.

End of FastScripts

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