Henin-Hardenne sets sights on third French crown
Clay-court queen Justine Henin-Hardenne insists she does not “own” Roland Garros despite being in touching distance of her third French Open crown in four years.
The defending champion faces eighth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia in the final on Philippe Chatrier court tomorrow.
The 24-year-old fifth seed from Belgium is enjoying an impressive fortnight in Paris and is yet to drop a set in her five matches en route to the final.
Henin-Hardenne, who was forced to withdraw from the Australian Open final in January because of stomach pains, has always admitted her preference for the French grand slam and her solid game and overwhelming successes in recent years have made her a crowd favourite.
She will again enjoy that status tomorrow after looking unbeatable.
But she warned: “I will never say I cannot be defeated here, I do not own Roland Garros.
“I love playing here and I’ve had a lot of success.
“But tomorrow will be a different situation and I cannot say I will necessarily win.
“You need to work a lot and you get the reward when you win. But the most difficult is to come.”
Indeed, Kuznetsova, the 2004 US Open winner who has reached the last 16 in Paris for the past two years, appears to be one of the fiercest fighters on tour.
Coming into the French Open, the 20-year-old Russian enjoyed memorable victories over Martina Hingis, Patty Schnyder and Amelie Mauresmo.
She also battled back from a set down in the last 16 and in the semi-finals to win her encounters with ninth seed Francesca Schiavone and the Czech Republic’s rising talent Nicole Vaidisova.
“Svetlana is a great player,” Henin-Hardenne added. “She is back at her best level, the one she was at when she won the US Open.
“I know I will have to play my best tennis if I want to win.
“We know each other very well so there won’t be many surprises about our games.
“It’s the one who will be able to display her best tennis, free from any kind of pressure, capable of going forward and seizing the chances on key moments, who is going to win.”
This is exactly what Henin-Hardenne claims she has been doing over the fortnight.
“I would not say I’ve played my best tennis,” she added. “I’ve been consistent, solid, but I never played at the level of a few months ago.
“But the most important thing is that even when I was not playing my best tennis I played well on important points.
“It’s actually been the common point to all my matches. So that’s important because that’s one way of winning.”
Kuznetsova claims her place in the final is no longer a shock for her as it was at the US Open two years ago, but rather a reward for her hard work.
“It’s far different, back then I was far more surprised and especially not prepared,” she said.
“This time I’ve worked harder. I knew what I was working for. My hard work is paying off.”
Following her US Open win Kuznetsova experienced hard times, struggling to get her tennis back on track in 2004.
She is convinced it will not happen again this time.
“After Wimbledon last year, I only won three or four matches,” she explained.
“I was (world) number four but I was struggling to win matches. Other players respect you for the matches you win.
“When you start losing in first rounds you lose that respect and it gets harder to win it back.
“I have done it now, I know it and I am happy. I will not make the same mistakes this time.”
| Related Stories: |
|
