Williams focused on Henin showdown
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04 June 2007 /
Serena Williams says she will be totally focused during her French Open quarter-final tie with Justine Henin and will not let any crowd reaction affect her.
Last time the two players met in Paris was four years ago, when Williams was booed during a highly contentious semi-final.
However, she maintains that is all in the past and is now just looking to put in a good display against Henin, who is the 2.8 favourite to successfully defend her title.
"I don't want to reflect on that anymore. I let it go. It seems like decades ago," said the 25-year-old. "I've definitely matured a lot. If the crowd gets involved, I'm just going to zone out, focus on me."
Williams is third in the betting in the outright winner market at 6.6, and is trading at 2.52 to enjoy success against Henin (1.64) on Tuesday.
However, this time the roles are reversed from 2003, when Williams entered the Grand Slam event as favourite but ended up leaving the Chatrier Court in tears, and subsequently accused Henin of "lying and fabricating" during their match.
After winning her fourth-round match on Sunday, the American admitted she had never spoken to Henin about what happened that day but it would have no impact on their showdown this week.
"I don't think about it. I know I wasn't at fault in any way, and I guess she was doing everything to win," she said. "It was what it was, but we're both different people now."
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