Justine Henin took one step closer to winning the first major of her Sony Ericsson WTA Tour comeback on Tuesday, defeating Nadia Petrova in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, 76(3) 75.Although Henin had a tough time with Petrova's trademark all-court attack, she always came up with the goods when it mattered, finishing the first set in a tie-break with some glorious winners (including an angled crosscourt backhand winner on set point) and rallying from two breaks down to take the second set and her 13th win in their 15 meetings.
"It's a great feeling to be in the semis of the first Grand Slam I've played since I came back," Henin said. "I was curious about what was going to happen here. When I saw the draw, I took each match as a goal. I never thought about being in the semis, I thought every match would be difficult and important. I just went step by step. That's what I'm going to keep doing from now on too.
"Now I can dream of being in the final of this Grand Slam."
"Today was really the worst day for me here. Justine really put some pressure on me," Petrova said. "She's definitely playing very well. She's playing more aggressively than before, closer to the lines and going after second serves. I think she improved her first serve too. I was fighting. I was fighting hard."
Henin is playing her first major since falling to Maria Sharapova here two years ago - a few months later, she walked away from the game.
"When I beat Sharapova in the Sony Ericsson Championships final in Madrid in 2007, I felt something at that point. There was a little voice telling me I needed something else at that time. Sharapova here, Serena in Miami... those were difficult losses. But in another way they helped me understand I had to go away.
"Now the little voice is very positive."
Zheng Jie followed Henin into the semifinals with a 61 63 win over Maria Kirilenko. Two years ago at Wimbledon, Zheng became the first Chinese player ever to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam; now she matches it.
"For me it's amazing," Zheng said. "Every match has been tough. The first three rounds I went to three sets. Today I won in two sets, so it's good news."
The 5'5" Henin won her only previous encounter with the 5'4" Zheng, in the early rounds of Toronto in 2006.
Kirilenko was playing her first career Grand Slam quarterfinal.
"It's the best I've done at a Grand Slam, so it was a nice tournament for me," the Russian, who turned 23 on Monday, said. "I'm looking forward to getting some rest time now, to recover for my next tournament in Pattaya City, Thailand. I'll keep working hard from here though. I'll just keep going."
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Singles - Quarterfinals
(WC) Justine Henin (BEL) d. (19) Nadia Petrova (RUS) 76(3) 75
Zheng Jie (CHN) d. Maria Kirilenko (RUS) 61 63
No comments:
Post a Comment