Henin to play Clijsters

ByEurosport

Published 04/07/2006 at 13:37 GMT

Justine Henin-Hardenne moved into the semi-finals on Tuesday with a hard fought 6-4 6-4 win over French qualifier Severine Bremond. The French Open champion will now face compatriot Kim Clijsters after she beat Na Li 6-4 7-5 to set up a replay of their me

Match highlights: Henin-Hardenne v Bremond

Despite being ranked at only 129 in the world, Bremond really tested Henin, and while she was not able to take a set, gave the 2001 runner-up a few scares with her heavy serve and flat, powerful forehand

After a rocky start saw the French woman quickly 2-0 down, she then settled into her game, taking to the net whenever possible and squeezing the Henin game whenever possible.

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TENNIS 2006 Wimbledon Brémond S. - Henin-Hardenne J.

Image credit: Reuters

The Belgian was also struggling with her serve, hitting six double faults through the match.

However, the rest of Henin's game seemed in good order. She easily got the vital break of serve at 4-4 in the opening set, and from there never looked back, closing out the set with a rocket backhand down the line that gave Bremond no chance.

TENNIS - 2006 Wimbledon - Henin-Hardenne 1/4F

Image credit: Reuters

Justine then had the perfect start to the second set with an early break which she never gave up despite being pushed all the way to the line.

"I knew it was going to be tough and I was ready to fight," Henin-Hardenne told BBC Sport.

"Severine came through qualifying, she's been playing unbelievable tennis this week and she's very comfortable on grass.

"It's nice to be around at the end of the tournament again, after going out in the first round last year and missing the year before."

Guess who next?

Match highlights

It did not take long to learn that Henin-Hardenne's next opponent would be second seed Kim Clijsters, who ended China's chances of reaching their first ever semi-final in a Grand Slam, by knocking out Na Li 6-4 7-5.

"She's the type of player who likes to play aggressive tennis and I knew I had to do that as well," said the 23-year-old Clijsters.

"In the end I'm happy I pulled it back from a break down."

The Belgian looked to have the match in her own hands when she led by set and a break against Na Li.

From 0-2 in the second set the 27th seed grabed the next five games and held a set point when serving at 5-3 but hit a backhand long.

The U.S. Open champion seized her chance, breaking back twice to serve for the match at 6-5. Li saved two match points with some brave hitting but went just long with a backhand to give Clijsters victory at the third attempt.

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