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PACIFIC LIFE OPEN

March 12, 2006

Justine Henin

INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Justine, please.
Q. Lights too bright?
JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Sorry?
Q. Lights too bright?
JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Yeah, it is.
Q. Can't stand the spotlight.
JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: I can do that. I'm sure I can handle it.
Q. How tough was it out there today with the wind?
JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Yeah, I think I was very focused on what I had to do, so not thinking too much about the wind. Conditions were very difficult, but better than if we would have to play yesterday because yesterday was freezing and it wasn't good conditions to play tennis.
Today at least it was warmer, and even in the wind I think I could play a good game and happy with the level I played. I've been very focused on my goals on the court, so generally very happy.
Q. Are there ever times when you are not very focused on what you have to do?
JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Sometimes it happens. I'm the kind of person who is very concentrated on her goals, but you cannot be at your best all the time. There are days when you're not feeling great or it's even harder to get your concentration. It's probably harder for me during my practices than during matches because during a match you have to be focused. If not, you lose.
So that's what's very difficult right now in the job that we're all doing is the fact that you can -- you have to be all the time 100 percent very focused mentally, fit, I mean physically well, and that's hard. It's not easy to do every day and it's a lot of sacrifices, but that's good. At the end you have results, so that's good motivation.
Q. Justine, you played Martina Hingis in one of her first matches back.
JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: Mm-hmm.
Q. Can you talk about sort of her level then and what you've seen since then?
JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: When I saw the draw, I wasn't that happy. For my first time back in four months, it wasn't easy to play Martina because she has a name, she's a real champion. She did so much for the tour and she's coming back strong. I mean, she won a lot of matches. It looks like she really adjust her tennis, probably more than in the past. She works a lot. I can see that she's working a lot to come back at her best level, and she hasn't lose anything from what made her a great champion in the past. She's covering the court unbelievably well and it's going to be interesting to see at the end of the season where she's going to be. But great comeback for sure. Not very surprising for me.
Q. It's not surprising that she came back?
JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: No, because I practice with her a year ago in Saddlebrook, and I felt that she wanted to come -- to come back, but didn't know if she was going to be able to work again as hard physically. And I think she did and that's great.
It's very exciting for the tour, for the players, for the tournaments. The crowd is very happy all the time. She's working on the court. It's great feeling.
Q. Did she say she wanted to come back at Saddlebrook ?
JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: We didn't talk about that. She tried. She played, you know, in 2005, I think, and lost that match. And I think it was hurting a little bit her, but that's normal because she's champion. She's a real fighter. I almost never saw a competitor like her.
Even in the practice, she wants to -- you know, we doing the toss and just choose who's going to serve in the practice, so I mean she's tough.
Q. Is she someone like yourself, has a lot of variety in their game, most of the players stay at the baseline, they hit hard. You can do a lot with the ball - dropshot, slice. She also has angles and variety. Is it the style of play that is an advantage because so few players are doing it? Does she lack power and that might be a disadvantage?
JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: No. It's probably an advantage for her now because, like you said, just a few players play that game, so it would probably be harder for her if she would hit the ball very hard and play like all the other players. But she is different. I mean, when you won so many grand slams, you're just different. You have to be different, and, no, it's great. And I think she -- she's good person, too. She's very open to all the players and that's great, because it's, like I said, very exciting.
I mean, she did so much for tennis in the past few years. She had a break because she was there for already a long period of time, and now that she's back, she has a lot of motivation to get great results again.
Q. Justine, did it seem funny to be playing Martina when she wasn't on the tour, but she's 24 years old and she's a fantastic player, yet you're practicing with her and she's not a real player anymore. Does that seem strange?
JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: No, really. I mean, when I played her in Sydney, and I remember and I never beat her in the past when I wasn't at the level I am right now, but when she was probably in her best shape when I played her. But it was the kind of person I never liked to play in the past and then in Sydney, it was my first time that I was beating her.
So, no, it's a bit strange, but not that much. I mean, now she's like all the other players. She came back from the beginning of the season and we see at the end of the year what she's going to be, but it's great. I'm very happy to see her back.
Q. Justine, in Sydney, even after you won, you played that match down a little bit. In fact, you played Martina, okay, it was another opponent, even if it was Martina Hingis. Did you get more focused, even more up for that first round match than you have for pretty much any other?
JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE: For sure, but for me a first round match is always difficult, I mean, because I'm the kind of player who feels more pressure in the beginning of the tournament. I love being in the quarters, semifinals. I think it's great feeling. You don't have any pressure, you just play your game. I'm a little bit nervous about that. So when you have to play Martina, you didn't play for four months and you play Hingis, and you know everybody is going to give a lot of attention to that match, that make things harder.
But now that it's from the past, I can tell you that it's been good for me because I really had to be focused for my first match, even more focused than against somebody else. Now I can say it probably helped me to kind my confidence very early in Australia.

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