Henin keeps perfect record

2007-10-06 17:10

Stuttgart - World number one Justine Henin kept her perfect record against Jelena Jankovic, winning 7-6 (7-2) 7-4, on Saturday to reach the final of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.

Henin overcame some late hiccups in the first set and a 4-1 deficit in the second en route to a hard-fought victory in 1 hour 54 minutes.

The Belgian failed to serve out the first set at 5-3 and wasted a set point at 5-4. In the second she fought back from the early deficit and got the deciding break for 6-5. She served out the match at love, winning when Jakovic netted a volley.

It was Henin's eighth success in as many matches against the third-ranked Serb Jankovic, the score virtually identical with the one from their last meeting in the Toronto final in July which Henin won 7-6 (7-3) 7-5.

Henin made her ninth final of the year (having won a tour-leading seven titles and losing only one decider), and stretched her unbeaten run to 16-0 since a Wimbledon semi-final loss to Marion Bartoli in early July. She is bidding for her first Stuttgart title.

In the final on Sunday, the Belgian Henin meets either world number 2 Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia or unseeded 2006 runner-up Tatiana Golovin of France. - Sapa-dpa

- SAPA