Henin-Hardenne Goes for Fifth Grand Slam - 網球

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January 27, 2006
Henin-Hardenne Goes for Fifth Grand Slam

"It's not easy to get to a Grand Slam final. And no matter what happens on
Saturday, I can be proud of my comeback. For sure I have a lot of ambition. I
want to get it."

MELBOURNE, Australia - For Justine Henin-Hardenne, reaching the final in
Melbourne isn't just a chance at a fifth Grand Slam singles title, nor is it
just the continuation of a lengthy winning streak in Australia. It is also a
return to championship form for the 23-year-old Belgian, who after capturing
Roland Garros in 2005 began an on-and-off struggle with a right hamstring
injury, being forced to pull out of numerous events and playing only 11
matches the rest of the season.

When it comes to major competition, few players currently in the game have
done a better job of rising to the challenge as much as Justine
Henin-Hardenne. The Belgian reached her first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon
in 2001, ending the 19-match Grand Slam win streak of Jennifer Capriati in
the semifinals before pushing Venus Williams to three sets in the final.
Since then, Henin-Hardenne has gone 4-0 in major finals appearances, winning
Roland Garros and the US Open in 2003 (defeating compatriot Kim Clijsters in
straight sets in both finals), the Australian Open in 2004 (again beating
Clijsters, this time in three sets) and her second Roland Garros title in
2005 (beating Mary Pierce). She has continued to impress at the 2006
Australian Open, enjoying clutch three set victories in her last two rounds
over current world No.1 Lindsay Davenport and former No.1 Maria Sharapova,
and looks set to step it up once again on one of the game's biggest stages
against another former No.1, Amelie Mauresmo.

Henin-Hardenne's run to the final is also a continuation of her impressive
win streak down under. The Belgian has now won 20 consecutive matches on
Australian soil, beginning with her 2004 Sydney title (3-0), followed by the
aforementioned 2004 Australian Open title (7-0), Sydney two weeks ago (4-0)
and her wins this fortnight (6-0). The last players to feel this much at home
on the Rebound Ace of Australia were Martina Hingis and Capriati, both
multiple winners at Melbourne Park.

"I think I had maybe a little bit of revenge coming here," said
Henin-Hardenne, whose last loss down under came in the 2003 Australian Open
semifinals to Venus Williams. "I hope I can do it on Saturday because I
didn't lose a match in Australia in 2004, and didn't lose yet any match here
this year. I hope I can keep going this way. I love this tournament, and it's
a lot of good memories, so I hope I can do it again."

The impressive showing this fortnight also coincides with a return to health
for Henin-Hardenne, who after winning in Paris last May was hampered by a
right hamstring strain, playing just four more tournaments the rest of the
season. She managed to reach one final, at the Tier I event in Toronto
(losing to Clijsters), but fell prior to the quarters at the other three,
including a fourth round loss at the US Open and disappointing opening round
losses at Wimbledon and her only post-US Open event, Filderstadt. Other than
those, she was forced to pull out of six events, including the season-ending
Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships.

"I was surprising myself for sure, because when I arrived here I was coming
to play a couple of matches and get my confidence back," Henin-Hardenne
added. "When I see what I could do during this whole tournament, I think it's
just great to come back this way. It's been tough for me to be injured for
such a long time, and then coming back in my first Grand Slam, being again in
the final, I think it's just an amazing feeling and I really enjoy that right
now."

Although she was largely untested in her first four rounds, all against
unseeded players, the No.8-seeded Henin-Hardenne has brought out her fighting
spirit in her last two rounds, defeating top-seeded Davenport 26 62 63 (her
fifth straight win against the American) and outlasting No.4-seeded Sharapova
46 61 64 (her third straight win against the Russian teenager). Despite
compiling a negative winners-to-errors differential, she has been sharp when
it matters most through her first six rounds, converting on half of her break
point opportunities (35 of 70). She was most impressive in her match against
Sharapova, winning nearly three quarters of the points on her first serve,
nearly half of her return points and mixing her incredible defensive
abilities with well-executed aggression.

"I'm very proud of myself because I kept fighting during the whole match,
even when the points were very long," Henin-Hardenne said. "I ran like
probably I never ran in the past on the tennis court. I was dominating the
first set and then on my serve I lost a little bit of aggression. I was too
far from my baseline, and she could take the first set. Then I tried to
change that in the second set, so it made the big difference that I was just
staying on my baseline, instead of being three meters behind my baseline. It
was tough, very intense, even in the third set. But very happy the way it
ended, for sure."

Henin-Hardenne will bring a 4-3 head-to-head advantage over her final
opponent, Mauresmo, but most of their matches have been tight encounters,
including their last one, a 75 36 61 victory for the Belgian in the
semifinals of Toronto last year. Mauresmo has also played some of her best
tennis in Australia, reaching her lone career Grand Slam singles final here
in 1999, also winning Sydney in 2000.

"It will be special, because Amelie, I think that she wants to play another
Grand Slam final. But right now I'm not thinking too much about this final. I
try to enjoy my victory today. It's gonna be time tomorrow, on Saturday, to
talk about that. But depends also from the opponent. So we'll see. The best
will win."


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