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U.S. OPEN

August 25, 2007

Justine Henin

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Justine.

Q. How does it feel to be back?
JUSTIN HENIN: It's good. I mean, it's been a nice break for me after Wimbledon. That's what I really needed. Then I was back in Toronto. Very happy to find my confidence back with my win over there.
New York is a bit crazy. US Open is just a different kind of atmosphere. But it's good memories for me, especially in 2003 and also last year, semifinal, final.
It's the last Grand Slam of the season. Everyone wants to play well here. It's the last chance in a Grand Slam to do something good, so it's a good feeling to be here. I had a good rest last week, so it's good.

Q. You sort of talked about running out of gas in the final here last year.
JUSTIN HENIN: I was.

Q. I was wondering how you feel coming in this year. Do you feel more rested? You played one less tournament than last year.
JUSTIN HENIN: No, I did play only one tournament before US Open last year, but I didn't play New Haven because I was sick from Montréal. It's a different kind of preparation. Weather is pretty hot now, very humid. We'll see with the conditions also these next two weeks.
Just go match after match, step by step. I don't know how I'm gonna feel as soon as the tournament is going to start. I've been a little bit concerned about my shoulder after Toronto. Had to take a few days off. It's like it's in a good way. So we'll see.
Step by step, that's how you build a lot of good things. Not going to change my mind on that because it's worked pretty well in the past.

Q. Do you feel fresher coming in this year?
JUSTIN HENIN: I don't know. I hate to compare myself to last years because we don't care. I mean, the thing is that I'm gonna have to give my best every time I'm gonna walk on the court. I hope to play a lot of matches here. It's pretty hard to tell you how I feel and how things are gonna happen.

Q. Have you had a chance to look at the draw? What about the possibility of playing Serena possibly in the quarters?
JUSTIN HENIN: Yeah, I mean, I know the draw pretty well. But my first match remains something really important to me. Like I said, day after day, because I've been in this situation many times in the past. That could be a possibility. But we still so far from that. The tournament didn't decide yet. I just want to be focused on myself. I think it's going to be the key for me.

Q. Do you wish Serena would play a few more tournaments and get her rankings up so you wouldn't have to meet her in the quarters?
JUSTIN HENIN: No. I know what my ranking is, and that's the only thing I care about.

Q. What have you been doing to keep busy in New York, to relax?
JUSTIN HENIN: I just got here on Thursday night, so I was in Toronto. It was important to me to stay a few days over there because, like I said, New York is crazy. It was tough for me to come here too early. I just got here on Thursday. I had many things to do for press, sponsors, a lot of things to do. Really didn't have the time to do something else than practice and working.
But it's okay now. I like to be here for a few weeks, but never live here, that's for sure.

Q. Anywhere you go to relax, somewhere quiet you like in New York?
JUSTIN HENIN: I don't have really a lot of time. I like to stay in my hotel when I have a little bit of time, which doesn't happen very often. But, no, you just very concentrated on your matches, your preparation. I like to go shopping a little bit. But that takes me a lot of energy, so I just try to stay very quiet. I'm someone who needs to be quiet and very calm. That's what I need.

Q. I saw you leaving last night with your coach to have dinner.
JUSTIN HENIN: Probably. I'm still eating (smiling). Not only in my room. No, we go out for dinner, for sure, every night. That's the best moment of the day. We can feel relaxed, talk about something else. My physio is coming today also so it's going to be a very nice group for me.

Q. After you left Wimbledon, the emotion of the unpleasant loss died down, you were able to think about the match unemotionally, what conclusions did you draw about your performance?
JUSTIN HENIN: A lot of things to do which is important is to think about that and just make your conclusions and learn about that. Sometimes you have to accept that you were a little bit weaker. That's normal. These kind of moments did happen in the past and will happen in the future. You know, it's been a day that my opponent was just better than me emotionally. The match against Serena has been very, very tough in Wimbledon. That took me a lot of energy. Maybe the prospective (sic) of playing Venus in the final, I don't know.
But that day I was just exhausted and I wasn't good enough. I gave my best, but that wasn't good enough. So with a lot of humility, which remains something very important, you need to accept that even if you don't like it, even if it's painful, the other player was the best on the court.
And I did accept it. I forgot pretty quickly about that.

Q. Do you think there was a little bit of panic by you in the third set when Marion was playing so well, almost unable to miss anything?
JUSTIN HENIN: She was on fire. She was playing very well. She kept fighting a lot. She's a player that I respect a lot because she's working so hard. She improved a lot this year. So, yeah, I think that time on the court, she was much better than I was. But you have to, like I say, accept it even if you don't like it.

Q. Your endorsement company has used the phrase that you coined, "Impossible is nothing." What does that phrase mean to you?
JUSTIN HENIN: It's been my whole life I think. I've been really proud to be part of this campaign. It's been an honor. It's something that counts a lot for me, "Impossible is nothing." It's probably the history of my career because when I was a little girl, dreaming of winning Grand Slams, dreaming of becoming a professional tennis player, all these people that really didn't believe in myself at that time, and I proved it.
It seemed pretty impossible but that happened. I always had to fight a lot in my life, which is good because that makes you stronger, even if you're pretty sensitive, like I am, but you can get stronger in these very tough moments. "Impossible is nothing" has been something really important in my career. I've been really proud to do that campaign.

Q. When you're in your hotel room in Tokyo or Barcelona, you see an international soccer star or track star using that phrase, what goes through your mind?
JUSTIN HENIN: I'm really impressed. You know, it's just a big campaign. Really proud to be part of that family because it is a big family. That's just a great feeling.

Q. Does the women's field seem pretty wide open to you this year?
JUSTIN HENIN: I think it is every year. I mean, women's game now, there is a lot of concurrence. It's pretty hard when you look at the men's tour, even if you can get surprises, but it's probably less open than it is on the women's draw.
I don't know. Women are more emotional, too (laughter). We're more difficult to predict.

Q. With the night matches you sometimes have at the US Open, is that something you look forward to because of the atmosphere and excitement or something maybe you don't like that much because it messes with the schedule?
JUSTIN HENIN: A few years ago I did hate to play night session. That was something I was really scared about playing in the night because of my contacts, because of the thing you are a little bit more tired, it's later in the day, you have to wait the whole day. Then when I became No. 1 for the first time the end of 2003, next few months after I had to play a lot in the night session, so I probably got used to it. It's something that I like pretty much now.
I don't like to do it many times in a row, but it's a good feeling 'cause it's pretty electric in the night. As soon as the conditions are good, it's perfect.

Q. Can you compare your mentality going into a Grand Slam versus another tournament? Any difference in your mindset?
JUSTIN HENIN: I give my best all the time, that's for sure. As soon as I walk on the court in Toronto, in New York, in Dubai, anywhere in the world, I just want to try to take the best of me. But a Grand Slam is a different kind of tension, different kind of pressure, different kind of attention on us. It is different, for sure. But I don't prepare myself really differently in my routine. I just try to keep the same routine all the time 'cause that's important to me that I can count on that.

Q. I know you said it's too far off to think about Serena, but she comes in not having played since Wimbledon, thumb situation. What kind of form do you expect from her?
JUSTIN HENIN: I don't care now 'cause what do I expect from myself? That's the most important thing. If I look too much about what the others are going to do, I'm probably going to forget myself which remains the most important thing now. There are many goals for me from now to the end of the year. I hope I can finish the year as the No. 1 player. I know what's going to bring me that is just to keep winning matches. I just want to be focused on how hard I have to work every day, on my attitude, on a lot of things. I hope that can bring me that at the end of the season.

End of FastScripts

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