US OPEN 2006 - Lion's Den - 網球

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08/09/2006:

It's semi-final day at the US Open, and Justine will take on Jelena Jankovic.
This is the Belgian lioness' fourth SF slam berth of the 2006 tennis season,
and Jankovic's first match beyond the fourth round in any major of the
Serbian's career. Can Justine's electric tennis halt the challenge of an in
form Jankovic? This question will be answered from 1:30 pm on Ashe Stadium.
Justine had a few comments to make about her feelings on the up-coming battle
during her quarterfinal post match press conference, but as usual the
enigmatic Belgian kept her ace cards unrevealed.

She (Lindsay) said in her press conference that she felt that if she played any
other player in the world today, the way she would have played, she would have
won. She said that she thought you were the best tennis in the world right
now. With all due respect to Amelie, and she paid due respect to Amelie said
that when forced to make a prediction, that she thought you would be the one
to win this tournament. How does that make you feel?

JH-H: That's a nice compliment, yes. But I just try to go step by step, you
know. I don't want to look too far. Lindsay played a great match, I agree with
that. She played an unbelievable level. I had to raise my level and be at my
top to win today. I knew I could lose if I was just a little bit under this
level. She did push me a lot. It's been a very good test for me. Now, for the
future in the tournament, I'm gonna have a tough semifinal, I think, even if
it looks maybe easy on the paper when youlook at the rankings. On the court
it's a totally different story. Jankovic is playing great tennis this week.
It's gonna be a tough, tough one for me. I just want to prefer to stay focused
on that. And then we'll see what's gonna happen. In tennis, things can change
very quickly. You just need to keep your goals in your mind and do what you
have to do. My semi-final is my next goal right now.


As important as it is to not get ahead of yourself, look match after match
after match, as you get to this stage, is it even more difficult not to look
beyond the next opponent?

JH-H: Maybe, because it's been the way I did build all my victories in the last
few years. Everything I did build, I did it that way. I just looked match
after match. Even if it's a first round or a semi-final, it doesn't change
anything. But it's more coming from the outside. A lot of people are talking
to me about that, which is normal. I understand that. But me, I just want to
stay in my, you know, my way, my tunnel. That's the most important thing. I
have a lot of respect for everyone I play. On Friday, it's gonna be a tough
one. I don't want to talk about an eventual another final here, because I'm
still very far away from that.


What can you tell us about the medical timeout
during the quarterfinal. It's the rib?

JH-H: I have this problem a little bit from the problems I had in my stomach in
January at Australia. After that, it started to bother me a little bit. So
we'll see. It's something that I think is under control. It's been pretty
painful today. The trainer did help a little bit. I'm sure it's gonna get
better in two days.



The US OPEN 2006 Semi-finals will be televised live internationally today.
Please check your local tv listings for exact times.


Allez Justine!


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