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Dubai: World number one Justine Henin departed with a strong resolve to iron out the creases following her failure to successfully defend her title at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships on Thursday.
"There is a lot of hard work to be done before I start preparing myself for Miami [Sony Ericsson Open at the end of March]," Henin told media at the post-match press conference.
The Belgian, a four-time winner in Dubai, fell to Italian Francesca Schiavone in an engrossing quarterfinal on centre court on Thursday.
After winning the first set in the tie-breaker, Schiavone was serving for the match at 5-2, only to see the diminutive Belgian bounce right back and force the second tie-break with some gritty display.
But she still fell short. "I did not take enough chances. I knew I needed to hit some winners, but I fell horribly short," Henin admitted.
After drawing level at 5-5 in the second set, Henin was up 6-5 but failed to capitalise on the advantage. "I did have my chances to come back in the second set," she shrugged.
Henin did not look confident in her shot-making as she made some unforced errors that are so uncharacteristic of her.
She refused to even pin down her performance due to tiredness following a bruising three-set second round performance against Katarina Srebotnik.
"I was a bit tired after last night's game, but I do not want to make any excuses," Henin said.
"She came to the net, I didn't. She played well and she deserved to win. I didn't give enough," the Belgian stated.
The world's top player was not surprised after ending on the losing side against her Italian opponent. Incidentally, this is the second time in her career that Schiavone has defeated a world number one. She had beaten Amelie Mauresmo during the first round of the Fed Cup in 2006.
"I am never surprised any more. They all take their chances especially if they feel that I am not playing at my best," Henin confided.
Considering her high standards, Henin has had a modest start to 2008. She won in Sydney and reached the quarterfinal of the Australian Open in January.
In February, she took her 41st career singles title at Antwerp and withdrew from the Doha Open due to scheduling conflict. "I really do not want to make any excuses. I am not feeling at my best and I know there is a lot of hard work to be done before the next tournament in Miami," she said.
After drawing level at 5-5 in the second set, Henin was up 6-5 but failed to capitalise on the advantage
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