Brilliant Henin sails past Serena - 網球

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/6718289.stm
Brilliant Henin sails past Serena

Justine Henin was in superb form as she saw off a subdued Serena Williams 6-4
6-3 to reach the French Open last four.
The defending champion broke in the first game and Williams could not find a
way back into the match.

The crowd sensed a Williams comeback when the American immediately broke back
having dropped serve at the start of the second set.

But Henin's aggressive tactics kept forcing mistakes as she clinched her
first win over Williams since 2003.

On that occasion, Henin beat Williams in a controversial semi-final at Roland
Garros which ended with the American leaving the court in tears.

There was no such drama on Tuesday as Henin, seeking a French Open title
hat-trick, completed a clinical win in one hour 18 minutes.

The world number one had not been at her best in reaching the quarter-finals
but she clearly had a gameplan against the eight-times Grand Slam champion.

She was aggressive from the outset, and Williams could not settle.

The top seed finished with a 100% conversion rate on break points (four of
four) - while Williams took just one of the two she created.

The crowd briefly came to life at the start of the second set when Williams
slammed her racket to the ground after dropping serve.

But the boos quickly subsided and when Williams exited the stadium, she did
so to warm - even sympathetic - applause from the Henin-supporting crowd.

Henin goes on to face Jelena Jankovic in the semi-finals when she will seek
to extend her Open-era record of winning 31 consecutive sets in Paris dating
back to 2005.


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