Henin and Clijsters battle through

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:58

Henin, playing her first tournament since retiring from the sport in May 2008, looked on track for an easy victory after breezing through the opening set against seventh seed Melinda Czink. The Hungarian, who is ranked 37th in the world, hit back to claim the second – but Henin’s class and experience prevailed as she closed out the match 6-2 3-6 7-6 (7/5) in two hours 20 minutes.

The Belgian star will now play third seed Ana Ivanovic in the semis after she defeated Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-2 7-6 (8/6).

Clijsters, meanwhile, was also made to work hard in her quarter-final but eventually edged a rollercoaster clash with Lucie Safarova 6-1 0-6 6-4.

Clijsters will next face German Andrea Petkovic, who secured her last-four spot with a 6-4 6-2 victory over fourth seed Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia.

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By Tim Farthing

About the Author / Tim Farthing

Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.