Justine Henin wins semi-final match

Belgian tennis player Justine Henin gestures during her women's singles semi-final match against Chinese opponent Zheng Jie.

Henin joins Serena in final

Share

Justine Henin’s impressive return to top-level tennis is almost complete after she booked a date with old foe Serena Williams in Saturday’s Australian Open 2010 final.

The Belgian, playing in her first Grand Slam since the same tournament in 2008, disposed of her Chinese opponent Zheng Jie 6-1 6-0 in just 51 minutes at Rod Laver Arena on Thursday, a match that was her easiest of the tournament to date.

The win gives Henin entry to her 12th Grand Slam final, and should she beat Williams, it would be her eighth Grand Slam title.

Henin said it was nice to have an “easy” match ahead of the final.

“It was perfect - I just felt really good all day. Everything went pretty well. It was good to have a pretty easy match – I can’t wait for the final now,” the 27-year-old said.

Zheng has managed one previous Grand Slam semi-final appearance (at Wimbledon 2008), and she started the match in a positive fashion, holding serve as Henin produced a couple of errors from the baseline.

However, from the second game of the match, it was Henin who dominated as the former world No. 1 launched an assault on the Chinese player’s serve and broke her at every opportunity. The Belgian won 12 games in a row to close out the match within the hour.

The first set was a lot tighter than the second, as Zheng fought hard to hold serve on a couple of occasions where she took the game to deuce. But it was Henin who was able to produce the winners at key moments, and she raced away with the first set 6-1 in just 27 minutes.

The second set was almost a repeat of the first, as Henin’s aggressive approach towards the Zheng serve reaped rewards, and the Chinese player failed to hold.

In fairness to Zheng, she didn’t gift the match to the Belgian though errors – she only made one more unforced error than Henin in the whole match. Rather, Zheng simply never had a chance to get into a rhythm, only managing three winners to Henin’s 23.

Henin also improved her service game from her quarter-final win on Tuesday, lifting her first serve percentage to above 50 per cent and hitting winners off both forehand and backhand almost at will. She also dominated with her vollies, winning 77 per cent of points when she came to the net.

The victory sets up a much-anticipated final between the former world No.1 and Williams, the current top-ranked player. The American won through to Saturday’s final with a 7-6(4) 7-6(1) triumph over China’s Li Na earlier on Thursday.

Fast facts

- At 51 minutes, the match was shorter than either of the two sets in the first women’s semi-final between Serena Williams and Li Na.

- Henin hit 23 winners to Zheng’s three.

- Zheng won just eight points in the second set.

- Henin converted on six of her 11 break point chances, while Zheng was unsuccessful on all three of her break point chances.

Current Match on Rod Laver Arena Rod Laver Arena - Women's Singles - Semifinals Justine Henin BEL 6 6 Jie Zheng CHN 1 0 Match Statistics Serve Statistics

Justine Henin defeats Nadia Petrova

Henin's comeback run continues

Former world No. 1 Justine Henin believes her ability to win crucial points is giving her a winning edge after she progressed to the semi-finals of Australian Open 2010 on Tuesday.

Henin, Belgium’s latest comeback queen, reached the last four of her first Grand Slam tournament since retiring 20 months ago by winning her quarter-final against Russia’s Nadia Petrova 7-6(3) 7-5 in 111 minutes at Rod Laver Arena.

After the match, Henin said she was playing the big points well.

“This week, in this tournament I’ve been able to in the last few days to do it. It’s probably the most important thing,” she said.

“Even if you know you’re not playing your best tennis, being able in the tight moments to play good tennis like I did, I think it’s the key mentally.”

Some concerns do remain for the Belgian ahead of her semi-final, as she managed to get only 45 per cent of her first serves on target, and had her service game broken four times in a difficult match against the 19th seed.

“It was really difficult to find a rhythm, but when I had to play well, that’s what I did,” Henin said.

Petrova was shaping a serious threat in the tournament after easily marching through to Tuesday’s meeting with Henin. But it was the 27-year-old Belgian who looked the stronger from early in the match, breaking Petrova in the fifth game and consolidating to take a 4-2 lead.

However, the Russian fought back, and as both players struggled to hold serve, the set went to an inevitable tie-break.

Henin won the tie-break comfortably as she worked Petrova around the court, and took advantage of the Russian’s unforced errors.

Petrova hit back hard early in the second set. She adopted a more aggressive approach, and as she found a rhythm with her first serve, she found herself serving at 3-0 up in the set.

Henin then fought back from this point, breaking Petrova’s serve and going on a four-game streak to lead 4-3. After both players held serve to 6-5, it was again Petrova who buckled under the pressure and dropped her serve for a fifth time in the match to give Henin the victory.

The Belgian’s win was largely a result of her ability to work Petrova around and dominate the rallies. She came to the net with good effect, winning two-thirds of the points when she did, and despite less than half of her first serves finding the mark, she managed to work points off her second serve.

Petrova also gifted the Belgian too many points, particularly at important moments. She produced 41 unforced errors to Henin’s 26.

Tuesday’s win was the 13th time Henin had beaten Petrova in 15 meetings. The Belgian now faces Jie Zheng, who defeated Maria Kirilenko in straight sets in today’s other women’s quarter-final.

Fast facts

- Petrova served at 56 per cent for the match, while Henin served at just 45 per cent.

- Petrova made 41 errors to the Belgian’s 26.

- Henin was successful on five of her 12 break point chances, while Petrova converted four of her six opportunities.

Current Match on Rod Laver Arena Rod Laver Arena - Women's Singles - Quarterfinals Justine Henin BEL 77 7 Nadia Petrova RUS (19) 63 5 Match Statistics Serve Statistics

Justine Henin defeats Yanina Wickmayer

Justine Henin defeats Alisa Kleybanova