Berlin: Even after another painful loss at the German Open, Justine Henin's rivals still think the Belgian can pull it together to win a fifth French Open next month.

Dinara Safina said the world No. 1 can bounce back after she beat Henin 5-7,6-3,6-1 yesterday. Serena Williams had a similar view after her 6-3,6-1 rout of Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska extended her streak to 17 matches.

"Henin's such a great winner," said Williams, who reached the quarterfinals. "She can play a lot better. She knows that, and she can take solace in that fact."

Williams handed Henin the worst loss for a No. 1 player in nine years last month at the Sony Ericsson, 6-2, 6-0. That came after the Belgian was knocked out of the Australian Open in January in another hard loss, 6-4,6-0, to Maria Sharapova.

Some now wonder if the game has changed too much for Henin, even on her favorite surface.

"Henin has mastered clay, but I think the game is getting more powerful, like Serena is playing," said Ivanovic, the world No. 2 who advanced against Sybille Bmmer, 7-5,4-6,6-4.

Safina acknowledged that the rest of the players are aware Henin hasn't been the same since the Australian Open loss to Sharapova, that snapped a 32-match winning streak.

Williams though pointed out that Henin has only four losses this year, a record most players would envy. The Belgian also won two titles, although they came before the Australian Open.

Now Henin will review whether she will play Rome next week, or deal in a different way with problems not fixed at one of her favorite tournaments.

"I really wanted to use this tournament to get my confidence back," Henin said. "Now I will have to see."

Source : PTI