Roland Garros Final Profile: Justine Henin-Hardenne

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June 3, 2005 Roland Garros Final Profile: Justine Henin-Hardenne "What has happened in the last few months has been very difficult for me, and I could never imagine that in my first Grand Slam back I would be in the final." In March, Justine Henin-Hardenne made her long-awaited return to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour in Miami, after spending the majority of the 12 months prior off the circuit, battling the effects of cytomegalovirus and a knee injury. She made it all the way to the quarterfinals, where she found herself on the brink of a routine straight-sets loss to Maria Sharapova. True to her instinct, the slight Belgian did everything she could to claw her way back into the match, running more balls down, mixing in some slice and coming into the net, and after saving multiple match points, she miraculously found herself in a third set. However, Sharapova was just too tough in the final set, and Henin-Hardenne had to settle for a quarterfinal finish. 23 match wins in a row later, a streak that includes two wins over her Russian conqueror in Miami, Henin-Hardenne is in prime position for her fourth career Grand Slam title as she takes on Mary Pierce on Saturday in the final of the 2005 French Open. "I think it will be an incredible challenge for me," she said on facing the Frenchwoman in front of her home crowd. "Both of us have had a win here. She's French, and I think the public has a lot of respect for me, so I think it will be a fantastic final here." Henin-Hardenne, who won at Roland Garros in 2003, began her domination of the 2005 clay court season at Charleston, where she defeated Elena Dementieva in the final to claim her second Family Circle Cup. She followed that up with her first J&S Cup title at Warsaw, where she defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final, and then went on to win her third career Qatar Total German Open title at Berlin with a win over Sharapova en route to the final, where she defeated Petrova. She has extended her 17-match win streak to 23 en route to the final at Roland Garros, including tough early round victories over Conchita Martinez, Anabel Medina Garrigues and Kuznetsova, followed by comprehensive wins over Sharapova and Petrova in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Against Kuznetsova, she was down two match points in the third set before coming back to win. Although she has been taken to three sets numerous times and has not produced the cleanest numbers throughout the event, the Belgian maintains that the most important statistic is the win. "I don't think I've played perfect tennis, I think I've played my tennis," said Henin-Hardenne, who has certainly picked up her level in the last two rounds. "I've made some mistakes, but I've made a lot of winners, and I've been aggressive and patient when I had to. I've had good rhythm. I've been feeling very good, very calm on the court." Despite a perfect 3-0 head-to-head against Pierce, most recently a 64 64 quarterfinal victory at the Athens Olympics last year, Henin-Hardenne isn't quick to jump too far ahead of herself in making a prediction for the final. "I think she's in great shape right now, and mentally she's very strong because she loves to play here at the French Open," she said of Pierce. "She won it a few years ago, so she has a great motivation to go to the final and then try to win this tournament. It's going to be a tough mission for me." In making her 2005 Grand Slam debut at Roland Garros, Henin-Hardenne returns to the site of her 1997 junior French Open triumph, as well as her 2003 French Open win, but she has more reasons to love the event than just her trophies. "The surface is perfect for me here," she said. "It's so close to Belgium, so I get a lot of support from my family and friends. They all come here to Paris. It's also a very special atmosphere. The crowd is very special. And, I don't know, I love this place. I feel I'm playing like at home. It's so beautiful, and there are a lot of emotions for me here at the French Open." "I hope I can win it one more time. That's for sure." -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 61.230.20.190