US OPEN

September 2, 2004

Justine Henin

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Justine.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Unhappy, it's easy to say. No, I think that I was out of my rhythm today. I think that she didn't give me the opportunity to find a good rhythm. Even if I start the match pretty good, I think I played a correct first set. And then I started to be -- I was worried a little bit at the end of the second set, I was in a rush to finish the match. That didn't help me to conclude this match. So then she has the right to push me in three sets. She had the right to beat me today. But I just tried to had the good reaction at the beginning of the third and just tried to stay focused on the main important thing. Today just the win is everything that I will remember.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: I think that I knew she's -- I knew she was running very good, that she was quick on the court because I heard a lot of things in the last two days about her. But I didn't expect that, because she was running all over the court and she was covering the court pretty good actually. I had to work very hard on every point. It was a lot of rallies. And I think that she didn't give the rhythm that most of the players are giving. I think that now the woman's tennis, everybody is hitting the ball very hard, always at the same rhythm. But today was different. She used her slice more than the other players, and I'm not very used to play against this kind of game. So I think she played a great match, and probably I wasn't at my best level, that's for sure. But I need to accept that and just try to be better the next day.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: But I just can see that most of the players who played well at the Olympics and then coming here have many problems at the beginning of the tournament. That's the only thing I can say. Molik lost. Amelie had some trouble yesterday. Myskina lost today. I had a tough match. I don't know if it's a coincidence or not. I can tell you it's not easy coming from Europe, coming from Athens. Really tough conditions. A big tournament, the Olympics. It's something different. Different kind of experience. And then a week after you again in a Grand Slam. A lot of pressure. It's very different atmosphere. I can see that most of the players having problems. But maybe it's only the beginning of the tournament. I hope we going to get better soon.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Oh, yeah. Because the experience I got at the Olympics, it's something unique. We have four Grand Slams during the year. It's every four years. And I think that what I did there, it was pretty amazing. It was my coming back. But anything is perfect. I knew that coming here after the Olympics was going to be difficult for me to recover. Different kind of conditions here. It's more humid, it's very different. But we need to accept that, just try to keep going.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: I think that for sure in the last few days I haven't been feeling well and I couldn't practice as I wanted. I had to take antibiotic and everything. So it doesn't help to be at your best level. But I think now it's from the past. I think I recovered from that. But it's not easy because it makes you a little bit more nervous before tournament. You start to be sick. It's okay. I just try to go step by step, be patient, and I hope I'll feel better very soon.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: It was a good test for me today - not only physically, but mentally. Because in the past, it was maybe the kind of match I could lose because mentally I couldn't find the way to finish the match. Fortunately I found it today in the third set. But every match is a test. Every tournament is a test. At this level, you need to be at your top all the time. And that's not easy. You cannot be at your top level all the time. For me, it's been big surprise, for sure, that I won the Olympics. And after coming here in a Grand Slam, it's other kind of pressure. I find my world again, you know, the world that I live in. So it's not easy. I need to get used to it a little bit more, get used to the atmosphere with all the other players and everything. I think it's going to be a good test for me. But like I said before the Olympics, the goal is playing a lot of matches before the end of the season so I can get ready for 2005.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: After this kind of problem, the virus that I got, I think you need to be careful during a long time about your health. And I think that I'm probably more sensitive now to everything that can come: cold, all these kind of things. I know it and I'll have to take care of myself for a certain period of time. But we will see about that. I think you don't recover like this, in a few weeks of this kind of virus. But step by step, you need to be patient, and physically you get better and better. I think if I would have lose in the first or second round of the Olympics, everybody would say, "It's hard for her to recover after her virus." It's still hard for me to recover, that's for sure.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: There was days that -- I never stopped working. I was on the court almost every day. I was playing an hour a day. But I didn't have the energy to do anything else. So I was at home a lot. It's been frustrating because usually I'm the person who has a lot of energy, I want to do a lot of things. My husband was going to do other things, and I couldn't follow him. So it was really frustrating for myself because I love to move, and I love to see different kind of things. I was at home. It was positive because now I know my house pretty well (smiling).

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: I didn't watch a lot of tennis on TV. I couldn't watch tennis on TV. It was too hard for me. I read a lot. Just spend time with my family, with my friends, with Carlos' children. Just try to live like anybody else. Sometimes it's good preparation for after my career, but I'm sure it's going to be long.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: I think now it's very hard for everyone. The players who did it in the past were great champions, and it's not easy for anybody. You don't have to think about that. You have to think tournament after tournament, giving your best. That's what I did in the last two years. Every time I'm going on the court, it's to give my best. I'm not thinking about winning Grand Slams and winning tournaments, that's for sure the main goal. But I need to stay focused on the main important thing: being healthy, winning match after match, then you see what's happening. For me I plan for a long career. That's also why now I need to get a lot of matches. I want to be ready for next year. But I'm not planning to stop tennis in the next two or three years or in the next five years, because it's what I love the most. So we'll see. I have time. I'm only 22.

JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Oh, it's very hard. In Athens I was actually pretty good. It was my coming back. But now a lot of things happen since that because it took me a lot of energy, the last weekend in Athens. I didn't sleep enough. I played tough matches at the end of the tournament. It's very hard to say. Day after day you feel differently. It's not only for me that I'm recovering from a virus, I think it's for all the players. We could see other players here not feeling well during their match, just struggling a little bit. Can happen to anyone. But I cannot say really a percentage what I'm feeling right now.