K. CLIJSTERS/J. Henin
6-2, 6-7, 7-6


Q. How do you size it up?
JUSTINE HENIN: Well, it's disappointing, of course, to lose this way, even if I've been under pressure a lot in this match and been a lot of ups and downs and Kim gave me the opportunity to come back in the second set.
Yeah, in the end I've played better, but she has been the one who really went for the opportunities.
I mean, so it wasn't a great match, and she played better on the important points. She's been more aggressive and took the opportunities.
I think that really made the difference today.

Q. Does she seem to play better when she's trailing versus leading in your history with her?
JUSTINE HENIN: Well, I don't know. I think, you know, Kim is very solid on the baseline, and she loves to go for the rallies. It's always been like that in the past. I think it didn't really change.
Even if she did a lot of unforced errors today, she went for the winners much more than I did.
So I think that but, of course, I mean, when it was really tight in the score she played better at the times when she was leading and in control of the match.
She lost the intensity a little bit and gave me the opportunities to dominate back. I just kept fighting during the whole match, so it's, of course, difficult to lose this way.


Q. Since you've both come back you've had two of these incredible matches. Do you foresee this is the way it's gonna be for a while with you two?
JUSTINE HENIN: I don't know. 7 6 in the third, I hope it's not gonna be like this all the time. Yeah, it was very close both times. Almost the same kind of match.
So I hope we'll have great fights again in the future, of course.

Q. Is it difficult for a player to come back after such an emotional match and play in the final two days later in your experience?
JUSTINE HENIN: Well, it's never easy, especially with the strange schedule here. I mean, playing so late and two days after you have to play in the day.
So I think it's not gonna be easy. I'm sure she has the possibilities to do it.

Q. You don't like the 9:00 starts, do you?
JUSTINE HENIN: Well, in this tournament I just took my schedule the way it was. I've played pretty late two times and then again tonight, so I think it's very late to start a tennis match. But that's the way it is.

Q. Good tournament overall you feel?
JUSTINE HENIN: Yeah, I have to keep something really positive about my tournament here. It's been I've had great wins. I played good tennis. I wasn't strong enough tonight, but I think I can go back home with a lot of good things.
We gonna keep working. It's only my fourth tournament. You know, I keep improving, and it's just I need to have more tournaments and more time to really be more consistent.

Q. How much are you looking forward to the clay?
JUSTINE HENIN: Well, it's gonna be for next week already, so it's gonna be interesting. Long time, so I can't wait to be in that.

Q. Your hip and back, you'll be okay?
JUSTINE HENIN: It's gonna be okay, but it's not great at the moment.

Q. After that long rally, you bent over by the chair. Was that exhaustion or the back?
JUSTINE HENIN: It was a bit of everything, yeah.


(via Sony Ericsson Open, photo/Getty Images)

Miami: Justine Henin's 01. April Interview