http://www.wtatour.com/newsroom/?contentid=180 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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