Henin in Sydney finals

12 January 2006

BRUSSELS – Belgium’s Justine Henin-Hardenne is through to the finals of the Sydney tennis tournament in Australia after thrashing Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semi-finals.

Following her health problems Henin showed that she is once again in top form and able to display world class tennis. Kuznetsova, ranked 14th in the world and unbeaten in six matches this year, was dismissed in two sets, 6-3 and 6-1.

Henin needed 43 minutes to win the first set, but just 27 minutes for the second. She’ll face the winner of the other semi-final between Italy’s Francesca Schiavone and Nicole Vaidosova of the Czech Republic. “I was moving great, I’ve been very powerful,” said Henin-Hardenne. I have four matches here before the Australian Open. I hope I can keep it going this way.”

Fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters had to pull out of the tournament earlier due to injury, raising concerns about whether she’ll play in the Australian Open. “I had an MRI scan and it’s shown I have an inflammation of the hip joint and tendon,” Clijsters said in a statement. “The good news is that there is no tear of the muscle. In the next couple of days I’m going to receive more treatment … and at that point I’ll have a better idea of my condition.”

Separately, Olivier Rochus made it through to the Heineken Tennis Open in Auckland with a stunning 6-2, 6-0 demolition of Spanish second seed David Ferrer.

Subject: Belgian news