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Henin in Porsche GP final
Justine Henin looked to maintain her unbeaten record against Jelena Jankovic when the two stars went head-to-head in the semi-finals.
- Associated Press
- Updated: October 07, 2007 02:30 PM IST
Read Time:2 min
Stuttgart:
Henin, who had beaten Jankovic in each of their previous seven meetings, jumped out to a 5-2 lead and appeared to be cruising to a first set victory.
But Serbian Jankovic, the number three seed, clawed her way back and forced a tiebreaker, only to let Henin dominate proceedings.
The world number one took it 7-2, but suffered a break of serve in the early stages of the second set.
Henin levelled matters with a break back in the seventh game though and picked up another break four games later before serving for the match.
The Belgian wasn't to be denied and wrapped up a 7-6(2), 7-5 victory, extending her winning streak to 15 matches. She will face Tatiana Golovin in Sunday's (October 7th) final.
Unseeded Golovin, last year's beaten finalist in Stuttgart, took on Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second semi-final.
Number two seed Kuznetsova was the favourite heading into the match, but Golovin forced a break of serve for an early 2-1 lead.
The 19-year-old Russian-born Frenchwoman, who lost the 2006 final to Nadia Petrova, went on to take the first set 6-2 and also went a break up in the early stages of the second set.
Golovin's precision on her groundstrokes proved key as Kuznetsova struggled to keep pace.
For a third time in four meetings Golovin overcame her more illustrious opponent and picked up a 6-2, 6-4 win.
Golovin is seeking her third title of 2007, but to manage that she will have to overcome the world's best women's tennis player.
Golovin has faced Henin on two previous occasions and lost both matches, but she forced the world number one to three sets in Paris earlier this year.
Justine Henin looked to maintain her unbeaten record against Jelena Jankovic when the two stars went head-to-head in the semi-finals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix on Saturday.Henin, who had beaten Jankovic in each of their previous seven meetings, jumped out to a 5-2 lead and appeared to be cruising to a first set victory.
But Serbian Jankovic, the number three seed, clawed her way back and forced a tiebreaker, only to let Henin dominate proceedings.
The world number one took it 7-2, but suffered a break of serve in the early stages of the second set.
Henin levelled matters with a break back in the seventh game though and picked up another break four games later before serving for the match.
The Belgian wasn't to be denied and wrapped up a 7-6(2), 7-5 victory, extending her winning streak to 15 matches. She will face Tatiana Golovin in Sunday's (October 7th) final.
Unseeded Golovin, last year's beaten finalist in Stuttgart, took on Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second semi-final.
Number two seed Kuznetsova was the favourite heading into the match, but Golovin forced a break of serve for an early 2-1 lead.
The 19-year-old Russian-born Frenchwoman, who lost the 2006 final to Nadia Petrova, went on to take the first set 6-2 and also went a break up in the early stages of the second set.
Golovin's precision on her groundstrokes proved key as Kuznetsova struggled to keep pace.
For a third time in four meetings Golovin overcame her more illustrious opponent and picked up a 6-2, 6-4 win.
Golovin is seeking her third title of 2007, but to manage that she will have to overcome the world's best women's tennis player.
Golovin has faced Henin on two previous occasions and lost both matches, but she forced the world number one to three sets in Paris earlier this year.
Topics mentioned in this article
Tennis Ana Ivanovic Maria Sharapova
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