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Henin to play Kuznetsova in Qatar final

March 03, 2007 06:33 IST

Top seed Justine Henin beat Serbian Jelena Jankovic 6-7, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the final of the $1.3 million Qatar Open on Friday and stay on course for a 'Gulf Double'.

The Belgian's opponent in Saturday's final will be Russian second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, who beat Slovak Daniela Hantuchova 6-4, 6-2.

Henin, who won her first title of the season in Dubai last week after beating Kuznetsova in the semi-finals, extended her winning streak to 7-0 after beating the fourth seed in two hours and 22 minutes.

Both players made a string of unforced errors, resulting in breaks and counter breaks.

"I think I need some tennis," said Henin, the world number two who split with her husband late last year and made a delayed start to the season. "I am happy to stay longer on the court. But it is always better to win in two sets.

"You need to keep fighting and I needed this kind of a match to get my confidence back. I am very happy with the way I kept fighting. I wasn't playing very well, but I came back very strongly," she added.

"I had my chances in the first set, but did not take those opportunities.

"In the second set I played much better and in the third set I had control of the match even though it was hard to keep my serve. I remained very aggressive on the return."

Jankovic, who withdrew from her semi-final against Amelie Mauresmo in Dubai last week, said she still had problems with a sore left ankle.

She also blamed the windy conditions for making too many mistakes, a complaint Henin echoed.

"It was a big problem," said the Belgian. "I wear contacts and with the sand and wind it wasn't easy at all. It was hard to play good tennis."

Henin broke Jankovic in the first game to gain a psychological advantage, but the Serbian broke back in the eighth to make it 4-4.

Henin led 5-4 with another service break, but Jankovic fought back again to level the scores. At 6-5 Henin was serving again for the set, but the Serbian saved the situation and forced the tie-break.

Jankovic eventually clinched the set 7-5.

Henin wrapped up the second set in 30 minutes.

Source: REUTERS
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