Justine Henin, in her French Open finals post-match press conference had this to say (question and answer):
Q. Weren't you afraid that the emotional side of things would have too much influence on that match?
JUSTINE HENIN: No, I didn't panic. I knew I was not starting that match well. I can tell you, I had a horrible night. My herpes came out again, and I said to my doctor, "Well, I see everything is fine, it's great."
So, really, I was a bit anxious. But also, I really wanted to do well. And very early in the match, the match turned over. And then I knew I was going to be able to keep it up until the end. (enphasis mine)
Henin is recently divorced. Is this part of the reason for the split with her husband?
I mean I'm just sayin'. And will this be an excuse for future losses? I can hear it now:
Q: Justine, in the second set your forehand just seemed to fail you, and you seemed to tire as the match went on. Is that true?
Henin: Well, my herpes began to act up and I wanted to get off the court before my sore began to show.
I'll be looking out for all of Henin's post-match interviews from here on out.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-13-2007 @ 6:40PM
Larry Brown said...
I don't know if I'll be able to look at her the same way from now on. I've noticed the little bumps in the past, but never really thought twice about it. I mean having herpes isn't exactly the first thing that crosses your mind, right?
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6-13-2007 @ 7:35PM
roach said...
Come on, what do you expect from the French?
They are oblivious to being nasty.
Look how easily she blurted it out.
Cant take anything away from her game, shes awsome, but she looks like she practices good sex gone bad.
now i understand her screw face, its masked outbreak.
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6-14-2007 @ 12:53PM
Sandy said...
C'mon people, this is 2007. Herpes is nothing to be ashamed of!
Whatever.
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6-14-2007 @ 2:55PM
blackfrancis0708 said...
Hey if it's good enough for Ron Mexico it's good enough for Justine Henin.
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6-14-2007 @ 3:21PM
verily said...
Poor woman! Looks like Justine's been going through worse than we thought with her husband! Btw, Justine is not French. She's Belgian. Though from the sound of it, French is her 1st language.
Verily
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6-16-2007 @ 8:06PM
d block said...
EDUCATION !!!! She spoke about the herpes openly because you can get other forms of herpes. It does not have to be transmitted just sexually.
Also, I knew all long that it had to be herpes. It comes back frequently.
Actually, it looks to me as though Kim Clijsters gets the same breakouts as Henin.
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6-19-2007 @ 10:11AM
Sonya said...
3 CHEERS to Justine!!! Herpes is extremely common but nobody wants to talk about it. So is it cold sores or genital herpes that she is referring to?
Anyhow, it is easily managable these days. My advice is get informed before you judge anyone. Chances are, you may have herpes too and not even know it.
Here are two sites that have some very interesting reading on the topic for anyone who wants to go skin deep on the herpes issue:
http://www.herpes-coldsores.com/messageforum
http://www.dynamiclear.com
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6-23-2007 @ 1:15PM
Steven said...
She's referring to her cold sores, which is something that is quite common. She was concerned about her face and the camera after the match and she didn't want a huge blister to be on her face. So much was on the line for her and while she handled it very well, there is obviously a lot of stress before any Grand Slam final, especially a final you're expected to win.
I've seen her do interviews and her cold sores have been visible. Don't jump to conclusions and call her nasty for saying the word herpes openly. Think before you diss the best tennis player in the world.
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