Top seed Justine Henin downed American Venus Williams 7-6 (7-2)
and 6-4 on Friday to reach the US Open final for the third
time.
The world number one was broken when serving for the match at
5-3 in the second set but broke the American in the next game to
set up a final against 2004 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova of
Russia.
"We both played really great tennis, especially at the end of
the first set," Henin said. "I got a bit nervous but I just kept
fighting a lot and I am very happy about this win."
The Belgian broke in the opening game and held her advantage all
the way to 5-4 only to lose three set points as Williams hit back
to level.
The American was two points away from the set at 6-5 and 30-30
on the Henin serve but the Belgian then played a superb tiebreak to
win it 7-2.
Henin ran to a 3-0 lead in the second set before Williams hit
back to level at 3-3 and then had 0-4 on Henin's serve in the
seventh game. The 2003 champion saved them all and then broke for
5-3.
Wimbledon champion Williams broke back to be on serve but Henin
broke again to clinch victory to reach the final of a grand slam
event for the sixth time in her past seven attempts.
(Xinhua News Agency September 8, 2007)