Henin keeps fairytale alive

Justine Henin kept her fairytale comeback on track while it was business as usual for fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters on an intriguing third day of the Australian Open on Wednesday.

But while the two Belgians were recording victories in contrasting fashion at either end of the day, the Eastern European armada sailed on remorselessly.

Russians Dinara Safina, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva, Belarusian Victoria Azarenka and Serb Jelena Jankovic all recorded easy wins over outclassed opponents.

Fourth seed Caroline Wozniacki also got her campaign off to a positive start when she beat Canada’s Alexsandra Wozniak 6-4, 6-2 in a match held over from the previous day.

However, all the attention in Melbourne was on the second round classic between former champion Henin and world number five Dementieva, a match which lived up to all expectations when Henin beat the Russian 7-5, 7-6 (8/6).

Playing just her second tournament since returning from an 18-month retirement, Henin outlasted Dementieva in two hours, 50 minutes of pulsating tennis.

MELBOURNE, AFP