Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Henin advances to 3rd round of Australian Open

Justine Henin, just back from what turned out not to be retirement from pro tennis, made a noise when she reached the final at Brisbane recently. Today she made another one, taking out 5th seed Elena Dementieva, 7-5, 7-6, in the second round of the Australian Open.

There was plenty of drama in this match. Henin served for it at 5-4 in the second set, and again at 6-5, but was broken both times. Dementieva, who held set points in both sets, went up a quick mini-break in the tiebreak, but Henin then reeled off three points to become the victor.

Both women struggled with their serves, and both made 50 or more unforced errors; Henin, however, hit twice as many winners as her opponent.

Henin is joined in the third round by two other Belgians: Kim Clijsters, who defeated an in-form Tammy Tanasugarn, and Yanina Wickmayer, who upset 12th seed Flavia Pennetta.

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