Henin One Step Away From Dubai-Doha Double - 網球

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March 2, 2007
Henin One Step Away From Dubai-Doha Double

DOHA, Qatar - Justine Henin is now one step away from completing the Middle
Eastern double, but standing in her way is the only player to have ever
defeated her in the region, Svetlana Kuznetsova. Both women won semifinals on
Friday and will fight for the Qatar Total Open title on Saturday.

Henin began the semifinal proceedings with a tense 67(5) 62 64 win over one
of the world's most dangerous players, Jelena Jankovic. The Belgian let go of
a 4-2 lead en route to dropping the first set, but regrouped to take it in
three after two hours, 21 minutes.

"It's always better to win in two sets, but I need these three set matches to
get my confidence back," said Henin, the top seed. "I knew what to expect
when I came back; I knew it wouldn't be easy. I am very happy to be in the
final."

Henin is now 3-0 lifetime against Jankovic, but none of the victories have
come easily. She needed three sets to win at Charleston in 2005, and at last
year's US Open she was a point away from going down 64 52 before winning
again in three.

"In the third set I felt in control and remained agressive," Henin said.
"Jelena is a great player and has improved a lot."

Kuznetsova, seeded No.2, had a much more comprehensive win in the second
semifinal, beating No.6 seed Daniela Hantuchova, 64 62. The Russian gained
the lone break of the first set in the seventh game, then rebounded from a
2-0 hole in the second set, reeling off six straight games for the one-hour,
21-minute win.

"I'm very happy to be in the final, my first of the year," Kuznetsova said.
"I have really enjoyed myself here and am pleased with the way I'm playing. I
had some good preparation before the Australian Open."

The looming duel between Henin and Kuznetsova is not only attractive because
it has the top two seeds battling it out, but the Belgian will take on the
only woman to have ever beaten her in 22 career matches in this region. Henin
is a superb 21-1 in the Middle East, going 16-0 in Dubai (with titles in
2003, 2004, 2006 and last week) and now 5-1 in Doha (falling in the 2004
semifinals and now reaching the final here). That blemish at this event three
years ago came to Kuznetsova.

"I did beat Justine here so that is motivating!" said the Russian, who won
that one in three sets, 62 46 63, for her first career win over a reigning
world No.1. "I am looking forward to it. I'll just go at there and try to be
in control of the game."

The Russian made back-to-back finals in the desert that year at Dubai and
Doha. She fell to Henin in Dubai and to Anastasia Myskina in Doha.

Henin holds a 30-15 lifetime record in finals, while Kuznetsova is 8-7.

The doubles final, which precedes the singles final Saturday, pits
Swiss-Russian tandem Martina Hingis and Maria Kirilenko against
Hungarian-Czech pair Agnes Szavay and Vladimira Uhlirova. Hingis and
Kirilenko both hold multiple Tour doubles titles in their career, Hingis with
36 and Kirilenko with two. Neither player on the other team has ever won a
title of any kind on the Tour.

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