You have several weeks to play on clay and by the time you get to Roland Garros
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You have several weeks to play on clay and by the time you get to Roland Garros you generally feel comfortable with the surface."* Wimbledon: Finalist 2001"If you do well in Paris it can be very tough to take that over into Wimbledon. I generally feel pretty well prepared by the time I get to Paris. It's also a time when you meet up with people you haven't seen for a while. The heat can be tough, but the roof has changed things a bit. The crowd are very good-natured and the whole atmosphere is very relaxed."* French Open: Won 2003 and 2005"It's the tournament where I've had most success, though it's also somewhere I've done badly The crowd can play a big part. When they get behind you the support is fantastic, but they can also give some players a hard time. You can get drained as the year goes on but at this stage you feel fresh and keen to play.
It's the start of the year and it feels like you're starting out on something new again. I like to think that's the way that I'll develop, though that's maybe something for the future."Weighing up the Grand Slams: Henin-Hardenne on the four top tournaments Of all the players currently active on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour (not including Serena Williams, who has not played since the Australian Open in January), only Switzerland's former world No 1 Martina Hingis can equal Justine Henin-Hardenne's record of victories in three of the Grand Slam tournaments and a runner-up spot at the fourth* Australian Open: Won 2004"I love Melbourne. "When you look at Lindsay Davenport I think you see the benefits that you can gain from being that bit more relaxed She's 29 and is very cool and very quiet. I think that's why she's been able to stay at the top for so long. "That's what my coach dreams about," she smiled.Admitting that the pressures of a Grand Slam tournament keep her awake at night, Henin-Hardenne also acknowledges that she needs to loosen up."It's a tough life, with all the attention focused on you, and you can lose a lot of energy just thinking about the pressure," she said.
Blessed with an exquisite single-handed backhand, which John McEnroe described as the best shot in tennis, she is a ferociously competitive baseline scrambler who never knows when she is beaten.Such a style, however, places huge demands on the body and Henin-Hardenne agrees that she could help herself by shortening rallies. You can see that."Henin-Hardenne's supremacy is all the more creditable considering that the women's tour is dominated by hard courts, on which the power of the big-hitters can prove decisive. She's lost none of the ability that made her so successful before and even if the game is more powerful now and the rallies are getting longer and longer she's clearly got used to that very quickly She has the motivation. She dominated for such a long time and it's fascinating to see how she's doing. "She did so much for the women's tour before she stopped playing. In the semi-finals she is scheduled to meet Clijsters, although Martina Hingis could prove a major hurdle for Henin-Hardenne's fellow Belgian in the previous round.Henin-Hardenne beat Hingis on the former world No 1's return in Australia earlier this year and has watched her progress with admiration "I'm sure it's good for the game," she said.
The Williams sisters consistently got the better of her in the past, though it is three years since she has played either Venus or Serena.Yesterday's draw lined up Anastasia Myskina, the 2004 champion here, and Petrova as Henin-Hardenne's most dangerous opponents en route to the last four. She fell at the first hurdle in Miami, was a semi-finalist at Indian Wells and Charleston and lost in the Berlin final to Nadia Petrova, the Sony Ericsson WTA tour's most improved player. However, victories in Berlin over Svetlana Kuznetsova and Mauresmo, the world No 1, give encouragement that she can successfully defend her crown here.The current world No 5 has won six of her last eight matches against Kim Clijsters, three of the last four against Mauresmo, four of the last five against Petrova and Mary Pierce and four and five in a row against Maria Sharapova and Lindsay Davenport. I decided that I wanted to be on the tour for at least a couple more years. And if I want to be as strong a competitor as I have been in the past then I have to take care of my body and maybe do a little less hard work."Henin-Hardenne took a short break after Australia and immediately beat Maria Sharapova in the Dubai final to claim the 25th title of her career Since then her performances have been mixed.
