Henin to play Serena in dream Australian Open final
Justine Henin capped her remarkable comeback by storming into the
Australian Open final on Thursday where she will meet the imposing
Serena Williams gunning for her fifth title.
The tenacious Henin is playing her first Grand Slam since coming out
of an 18-month retirement and kept her historic run going with a 6-1,
6-0 demolition of unseeded Chinese Zheng Jie.
Williams also had to negotiate Chinese opposition and was made to
work hard by 16th seed Li Na before grinding her down 7-6 (7/4), 7-6
(7/1) under a hot sun on the Rod Laver Arena to set up an enticing
decider on Saturday.
Fifth seeded Andy Murray faces 14th seeded Croat Marin Cilic in the
first men’s semi-final later Thursday, while world number one Roger
Federer takes on French 10th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Friday. Ever
since she announced her return to tennis the talk has been about whether
Henin could emulate Belgian compatriot Kim Clijsters, who won last
year’s US Open on her own comeback.
And the former world number one has lived up to expectations after
being handed a wildcard by organisers.
She destroyed Zheng as she stayed on track to add to her seven Grand
Slam titles, including the 2004 Australian Open.“The dream continues. I
am going to play the number one and defending champion,” said the
27-year-old, who became the first wildcard to reach the final here.
“I wasn’t sure about what I would feel on the court and how things
would go. I have just enjoyed my tennis and taken it step by step. I
can’t wait for the final now, it is an amazing feeling.”
Asked if she seriously expected to get this far, she revealed she was
quietly confident, having booked a flight out for next Sunday before the
start of the tournament. “I was curious about how things would go and
I’m very happy to come back like this,” she said.
Henin has negotiated some tough opposition to get this far, including
fifth seed Elena Dementieva, 19th seed Nadia Petrova and talented
Belgian Yanina Wickmayer.
But the biggest test of her comeback will come in the form of
Williams, who is angling for a 12th Grand Slam title to put her
alongside Billie Jean King.
She saw off Li in just over two hours, with the rising Chinese star
saving four match points before a delighted Williams clinched the win
with an ace.
“I am happy I was able to pull it out, it was really close,” said
Williams.
“I wasn’t at my best today, but I’m still here which is shocking and
I’m just going to do whatever I can to stay.” The world number one, who
came back from the brink of defeat in a gruelling quarter-final against
Victoria Azarenka, is also hoping to become the first player to
successfully defend her title since American Jennifer Capriati in 2002.
But Williams was made to fight hard against a determined Li, who was
not overawed playing in her first Grand Slam semi-final.
She pushed Williams all the way and learned a lot from playing such a
high-profile game. “I lost the match and I was a little bit sad to be
stopped in the semi-final, but I played good tennis today,” said Li.
“I think that I have to practise much, much more, particularly my
serve.”
MELBOURNE, AFP
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