Four-time Grand Slam winner Justine Henin-Hardenne believes her big-match experience could be a crucial factor in Saturday’s Australian Open final against French third seed Amelie Mauresmo.
The Belgian is a veteran of five Grand Slam finals, while Mauresmo has contested only one, when she received a straight sets drubbing in the 1999 decider at Melbourne Park.
Henin-Hardenne, who is seeded eighth but has remained the bookies’ favourite throughout the tournament, said she thrived on big matches.
”That’s why I’m playing tennis, because I love to play in this kind of atmosphere, on big courts, good crowds,” she said. ”That makes me feel very special.”
The 23-year-old has lost only one of her five appearances in a Grand Slam final, at Wimbledon in 2001.
She said she would draw on her past success when she walks out onto Rod Laver Arena on Saturday.
”You try to use your experience but a Grand Slam final is always something very, very special,” she said. ”It’s a different kind of atmosphere, different kind of tension — you feel it, it’s different. But for me, I’m as nervous as I was for the first one. It’s great because I need that if I want to play well.”
Henin-Hardenne will be seeking to extend a 20-match winning streak in Australia that includes her 2004 and 2006 campaigns at Melbourne Park and the Sydney International. She missed 2005 through injury.
She was surprised by how well her game had gelled after coming back from a 2005 season plagued by injury and illness, saying she was having a great time on the Australian hardcourts.
”I really enjoy my game now,” she said. ”That’s probably the biggest difference because I feel very lucky to be healthy and be back on the courts.”
Henin-Hardenne revealed that she and long-time coach Carlos Rodriguez had devised a new game strategy designed to extend her career by helping her diminutive frame avoid injury against the modern game’s power hitters.
”We always want an evolution in my game,” she said. ”We always try to make me much more aggressive, stay on my baseline. That’s the way I’m going to play for a long time, I’m not going to play for five more years if I stay far from my baseline.
”It’s the way I have to play in the future, for sure.”
The baseline strategy has so far proved effective, with Henin-Hardenne downing top seed Lindsay Davenport and world number four Maria Sharapova on her way to the final.
The Belgian, who has a superstition of not walking on the court’s lines between games, said she would be following her tried and tested routines before Saturday’s big match.
”I did hit the ball today for 45 minutes. I’m going to have a massage. I’m going to go to my room and watch some DVDs, listen to some music, call home, you know, do these kind of things that are going to make me feel better,” she said. – AFP
