Henin continues comeback, rolls into semis

MELBOURNE, Australia - Former No. 1-ranked Justine Henin reached the semifinals in her Grand Slam comeback, beating Russia's Nadia Petrova, 7-6 (3), 7-5 today to take out the last seeded player in her half of the Australian Open draw.

Henin, unranked and playing on a wild-card entry at Melbourne Park, next will play Wimbledon semifinalist Zheng Jie, who beat Russia's Maria Kirilenko, 6-1, 6-3, to equal her Chinese record for the best run at a major.

The Belgian went down a break in the second set before finding the range with her powerful groundstrokes and winning seven of the next nine games to finish off No. 19-seeded Petrova.

"I just went for it with my heart. Finally I could make it, and I'm very happy," Henin said. "At the end I played much more aggressive tennis."

Henin, 27, is just two wins away from a triumphant Grand Slam comeback. Henin retired suddenly in May 2008 while holding the No. 1 ranking and has not played at a major since losing in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Maria Sharapova at the 2008 Australian Open.

Henin won the Australian title in 2004 and reached the final in 2006, when she retired because of stomach problems against Amelie Mauresmo of France.

Her ability to lift her intensity on key points showed against Petrova, who has never gone past the semifinals at a major.

After being forced to a tiebreaker in the first set, Henin raced to a 6-1 lead and clinched it, two points later, with one of her classic backhand winners.

In the second set, Henin was trailing by 0-3 when she started to climb back. She won the next four games to take a 4-3 lead. The next four games went on serve to give Henin a 6-5 edge.

Roger Federer and Serena Williams ended local hopes of breaking a three-decade drought at the Australian Open yesterday, the eve of Australia Day.

Federer beat former No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 - his 15th straight win over the Australian - and defending champion Williams defeated No. 13 Samantha Stosur, 6-4, 6-2, in back-to-back fourth-round matches on Rod Laver Arena.

In the quarterfinals, Federer will play Nikolay Davydenko and 2008 champion Novak Djokovic will meet 2008 runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Serena and Venus Williams are each a win away from setting up a sisters' semifinal.

Venus Williams advanced with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 win over Francesca Schiavone and will play No. 16 Li Na, who ousted U.S. Open finalist Caroline Wozniacki, 6-4, 6-3.

Serena, who has won the Australian title each odd-numbered year since beating Venus for the 2003 championship, will play seventh-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, who won the last 10 games to beat No. 9 Vera Zvonareva of Russia, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0.

No. 10 Tsonga edged Spaniard Nicolas Almagro, 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-7 (6), 9-7. Djokovic earned a 6-1, 6-2, 7-5 win over Poland's Lukasz Kubot. Davydenko held off No. 9 Fernando Verdasco 6-2, 7-5, 4-6, 6-7 (5), 6-3.

In the doubles quarterfinals, Wayne's Lisa Raymond teamed with Australia's Rennae Stubbs to beat Argentina's Gisela Dulko and Italy's Flavia Pennetta, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Seedings in parentheses.

TODAY

WOMEN'S SINGLES

Quarterfinals: Justine Henin, Belgium, def. Nadia Petrova (19), Russia, 7-6 (3), 7-5. Zheng Jie, China, def. Maria Kirilenko, Russia, 6-1, 6-3.

WOMEN'S DOUBLES

Quarterfinals: Lisa Raymond, United States, and Rennae Stubbs (6), Australia, def. Gisela Dulko, Argentina, and Flavia Pennetta (13), Italy, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.

MEN'S DOUBLES

Quarterfinals: Michael Kohlmann, Germany, and Jarkko Nieminen, Finland, def. Fernando Gonzalez, Chile, and Ivan Ljubicic, Croatia, 4-6, 6-1, 2-0, retired.

YESTERDAY

MEN'S SINGLES

Fourth Round: Nikolay Davydenko (6), Russia, def. Fernando Verdasco (9), Spain, 6-2, 7-5, 4-6, 6-7 (5), 6-3. Novak Djokovic (3), Serbia, def. Lukasz Kubot, Poland, 6-1, 6-2, 7-5. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (10), France, def. Nicolas Almagro (26), Spain, 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-7 (6), 9-7. Roger Federer (1), Switzerland, def. Lleyton Hewitt (22), Australia, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4.

WOMEN'S SINGLES

Fourth Round: Venus Williams (6), United States, def. Francesca Schiavone (17), Italy, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1. Li Na (16), China, def. Caroline Wozniacki (4), Denmark, 6-4, 6-3. Serena Williams (1), United States, def. Sam Stosur (13), Australia, 6-4, 6-2. Victoria Azarenka (7), Belarus, def. Vera Zvonareva (9), Russia, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0.

MEN'S DOUBLES

Third Round: Michael Kohlmann, Germany, and Jarkko Nieminen, Finland, def. Simone Bolelli and Andreas Seppi, Italy, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (6). Lukas Dlouhy, Czech Republic, and Leander Paes (3), India, def. John Isner and Sam Querrey, United States, 6-3, 7-5. Fernando Gonzalez, Chile, and Ivan Ljubicic, Croatia, def. Simon Aspelin, Sweden, and Paul Hanley (11), Australia, 6-4, 6-3.

WOMEN'S DOUBLES

Third Round: Bethanie Mattek-Sands, United States, and Yan Zi (8), China, def. Elena Vesnina, Russia, and Zheng Jie (9), China, 6-4, 6-4. Lisa Raymond, United States, and Rennae Stubbs (6), Australia, def. Chan Yung-jan, Taiwan, and Monica Niculescu, Romania, 7-5, 6-3. Maria Kirilenko, Russia, and Agnieszka Radwanska (15), Poland, def. Nuria Llagostera Vives and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (3), Spain, 6-1, 6-2.