Backhand Complements: Justine Henin-Hardenne Interview
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Backhand Complements: Justine Henin-Hardenne Interview
By Brad Falkner
07/14/2003
Everyone knows the cliched double entendre about love meaning nothing in
tennis. But try telling that to newlyweds Justine Henin-Hardenne and her
tennis teaching husband Pierre-Yves Hardenne, who were married last November.
This couple believes in love at first sight, and that is exactly what
happened during a chance meeting in 1998, when she presented him with a
prize at an amateur tennis tournament.
With a hyphenated name that many struggle to pronounce, Henin-Hardenne
(En-ah AR-den) lately has been forcing opponents to struggle with her game,
more often than not. In April, she ended world No. 1 Serena Williams'
undefeated streak at 21 matches with an impressive straight-sets victory in
the final of the Family Circle Cup.
Henin-Hardenne continued her winning ways in May by defeating compatriot
Kim Clijsters in the final of the German Open and extended her success
through the beginning of June by defeating Williams and Clijsters
consecutively to win the French Open, her first Grand Slam tournament title.
At only 21 years of age, Henin-Hardenne, who was a Wimbledon runner-up in
2001 and a member of the victorious 2001 Belgian Fed Cup team, has a long
tennis career ahead of her. The No. 3 player in the world, she maintains
a low profile, preferring a more simple existence than many of her peers.
But Tennis Week caught up with the shy, thoughtful Henin-Hardenne to talk
about her new life as both a wife and a Grand Slam tournament champion.
Tennis Week: Did you know that you are the first married woman since Chris
Evert at 1986 Roland Garros to win a Grand Slam tournament?
Justine Henin-Hardenne: Yes, it's a little bit special because not many
players are getting married during their playing careers. I don't understand
why exactly. Maybe it's because when the man is traveling with the wife,
it looks strange in other people's eyes. But I am feeling great with this
situation.
Tennis Week: After match point at the French Open, you went up into the
stands to share the moment with your husband, coach and friends.
Justine Henin-Hardenne: I didn't know what to expect or what I was going
to do.甴You are feeling so strange. You're just won your first Grand Slam,
and you want to be with your husband, your coach, your friends. I did not
think about it; I just went up there.啱It's was so important to me to go up
there and say thank you to them. It was the greatest moment of my tennis
career!
Tennis Week: In the U.S., we don't know too much about your husband.
What does he do for a living?
Justine Henin-Hardenne: He teaches tennis to children. He is also working
for me. He takes care of all my stuff with the press in Belgium and other
business-type things. He is working with my management staff helping with
the business side of things. He is doing a great job.
Tennis Week: To in addition to teaching children tennis, is he also a
businessman?
Justine Henin-Hardenne: No, he is not a businessman (laughing). He's too
young for that! Sure, he understands the business side of tennis. He loves
tennis. He is teaching tennis, and I think he just wants to go back to
Belgium because he likes being at home. He does not like to travel too much.
He likes being with me.
Tennis Week: At the French Open in your semifinal match against Serena
Williams, she was ahead in the third set 4-2 and 30-love when the
controversy started. What happened?
Justine Henin-Hardenne: I did hold my hand up, for sure. Definitely I did it.
But she saw me and she served. It's like when there is a mark and the umpire
has to choose whether or not he is going to deal with it. During this game,
everybody was getting a little bit aggressive: the player, the umpire, the
crowd and everything. On the point before, the umpire didn't show the good
mark. All of these things, when you're so focused on the match, you don't
really notice at the time. I just wanted to be so focused on myself and try
to forget the rest. To people will say whatever they want. I am pretty
comfortable with what happened. It's not the point in the match that changed
the tournament.
Tennis Week: How has your relationship with the media been, and do you feel
that there is some apprehension on the part of the WTA players toward the
media?
Justine Henin-Hardenne: Yes, maybe a little bit. I think that the media
is doing their job like we are doing our job. It's part of our life.
Sometimes it's hard because you lose or you are playing bad and then the
press can be negative. But we have to accept the situation. When you have
just lost a match, it's hard to go into a press conference because, yeah,
you are feeling bad. But we have to understand their job because they help
us also.
Tennis Week:咗ell it sounds like you are able to see this issue from both
sides.
Justine Henin-Hardenne: Yes, we have to see both sides. I mean, that's so
important because there are a lot of people working for us also. It's not
only the media; it's also the WTA staff and other people that are around us.
We have to understand their jobs too. We are not alone.
Tennis Week: Like many tennis players, you seem to hold Wimbledon in a class
by itself. What for you is so unique about the Championships?
Justine Henin-Hardenne: Wimbledon is special because it was my first Grand
Slam final in 2001 and making the semis (this year and last). What is really
special is how the tradition here is still so much a part of the tournament.
I like playing on grass courts. It's only three or four weeks of the year,
and you have to enjoy it 100 percent. The people at Wimbledon are very
focused. It's a little bit in my attitude. The people are so respectful and
the crowds are great. All these reasons are why I like it so much here.
Tennis Week: What impact will your French Open win and Wimbledon results
have on you going into the U.S. Open?
Justine Henin-Hardenne: This year, it will be very interesting for me.
I have never played really well there before. I've never made it to the
quarters of the U.S. Open. Maybe it's because it's at the end of the year
and I have been feeling tired. I never seem to play my best tennis in the
states. It's going to be different this year for sure because now I'm a
Grand Slam champion, which will also make it different for the people
there as well. I hope that I can play well. I think that I will enjoy it
more this year.
Tennis Week: Since you are obviously looking to improve your results at
the U.S. Open, what lies ahead?
Justine Henin-Hardenne: I am going to play San Diego and Toronto. I decided
after playing San Diego to go back to Saddlebrook to work with Pat Etcheberry.
Pat will be coming with me to San Diego and Toronto because my coach's wife
is pregnant. So my coach (Carlos Rodriguez) will stay until the U.S. Open
with his wife in Belgium.
Tennis Week: You have probably been asked more questions about your backhand
than perhaps any other subject. That said, when you first started playing
tennis, which players had the most influence on how you hit your backhand?
Justine Henin-Hardenne: Steffi Graf and Stefan Edberg.
Tennis Week: When did you first consider becoming a professional tennis
player?
Justine Henin-Hardenne: When I was young; it was just a dream of mine.
Now, I just really enjoy my job. I hope that I will enjoy it for a long time.
Tennis Week: Who are some of the important people who have really helped
you to improve your game in the last year?
Justine Henin-Hardenne: Carlos Rodriguez has been my coach since I was 14.
Carlos is very focused on my tennis. Pat Etcheberry has been doing everything
physically with me. I am going to Saddlebrook maybe 10 weeks of the year,
and the rest of the time, I work with Carlos. I know that I need a little
bit more power more than I had , but I think that I worked pretty hard last
December. I will never be physically like the other very strong players in
the top. That's not my goal. But I think that I can be powerful when I want to.
Tennis Week: At the WTA year-end championships, you said you had been working
hard to improve your forehand and that it was as strong as, if not stronger
than, your backhand. Which (forehand or backhand) would you consider to be a
bigger weapon?
Justine Henin-Hardenne: I am hitting more winners with my forehand now.
Tennis Week: Even when you are playing in a tournament, do you still go to
the weight room?
Justine Henin-Hardenne: Yes. Everyday, I do a little bit because when I go
back to Saddlebrook, Pat is killing me. So I just try to keep up my training
a little at the tournaments.
Tennis Week: You have said that one of your pet peeves is people who are
hangers-on in the tennis world. Could you elaborate?
Justine Henin-Hardenne: I'm talking about a very common situation that can
happen in the world of professional tennis. When you are losing, you don't
see anybody around. And when you are winning, you see a lot of people.
Tennis Week: You've had lots of company lately?
Justine Henin-Hardenne: There are a lot of things in the tennis life, and
there is a lot of money too. A lot of people are around us because there are
all these things. I have kept my friends, the ones who were there when I
was nothing, and that's so important because they are true people around me.
Tennis Week: Thanks to you and Kim Clijsters, Belgium now has two of the top
three players in the world. How has the Belgian press responded?
Justine Henin-Hardenne: In Belgium, it's a little bit hard. For a small
country, it's great, but it has made things a little more difficult at home.
For me, it's a little bit easier playing in the United States or in Australia
because in Europe the press gives us a lot more attention. I don't read the
press anymore. They can write whatever they want because I know what I am
doing. I know if I played bad or good, and that's what matters more to me.
Tennis Week: Last November during the WTA year-end championships in L.A.,
many of the players said that they were feeling burnt out and that the
professional tennis season is too long. What would you like to see change
in the current schedule?
Justine Henin-Hardenne: Myself? I would like to see the offseason be a little
bit longer. If we can finish at the end of October, that would give us two
months. Then you could take two or three weeks off and then work on your game
for five or six weeks, giving your body also some time for recovery. Take a
look at this year. If the players are playing in the Fed Cup (Final), they
are going to finish in mid-November. The first tournament is at the end of
December. I hope it's going to change, but I understand that it's hard for
the WTA and the tournaments that already exist. I hope that together we are
going to find a solution.
Tennis Week: When you have some time off, are you actually able to get away
from tennis totally?
Justine Henin-Hardenne: Last year, I did not hit a ball for 10 days because
I got married and had my honeymoon. This year, I will take two weeks off
from tennis. That doesn't mean that I don't do anything. Maybe I'll go for
a run or work out a little bit physically.
Tennis Week: Where are some of your favorite escape destinations?
Justine Henin-Hardenne: Last year, I was in the Bahamas for my honeymoon.
It was a very nice place and so beautiful. When I have time off, I want to
be with my husband. I like being at home, too, because I don't have a lot of
time to see my friends and family. No tennis racquets for two weeks; that's
good.
Tennis Week: What do you think is more important: physical strength or mental
toughness?
Justine Henin-Hardenne: The most important part is mentally, that I have to
think that I can beat these kind of players, the strong players. I just keep
fighting in a match on every point. I just have to stay focused on what I
have to do, and it's going to work.
Tennis Week: Getting back to your husband, you once said that your husband
wanted to spend half of his time in Belgium teaching tennis to children.
Yet your husband has become even more involved with your tennis?
Justine Henin-Hardenne: Things are changing a little bit right now. When he
has time in Belgium, he loves to teach the children. He is acting a little
bit like my manager now. We are going to try to find people around us to
help him with this. He has become more involved with my career because it's
very hard work and it's good to have somebody that you have confidence and
trust with in this position. We're going to travel a little bit more, but
not all the time.
Tennis Week: So far, marriage seems to be agreeing with your tennis career.
What type of impact has becoming a wife had on your tennis?
Justine Henin-Hardenne: It has given me a lot of confidence and a little
bit more security. I have my family, and that's very important for me.
So it's good like that.
嗯，我總是覺得Henin的談話淺顯易懂，很好了解...
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