Henin-Hardenne beats Clijsters to reach final

Justine won a nervy Centre Court dual with fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters to reach the second Wimbledon final of her career.

Justine Henin-Hardenne won a nervy Centre Court dual with fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters to reach the second Wimbledon final of her career, earning the chance to complete a full set of Grand Slam titles.

HT Image

Henin-Hardenne, runner-up to Venus Williams in 2001, won 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) to advance to a final meeting with either Amelie Mauresmo or Maria Sharapova.

It was a case of missed opportunities for Clijsters, who squandered a 4-3, 40-0 lead in the first set and then failed to serve out the second set at 6-5.

Handed the opportunity to continue her progress through the draw without having dropped a set, Henin-Hardenne was always ahead in the tiebreak and wrapped up proceedings with a cross-court backhand after one hour and 30 minutes on Centre Court.

"It was tough," she admitted after her win. "There were a lot of nerves today but I played well on the important points.

"I knew I had to be aggressive but that is not easy against a player like Kim. There is one match more to go now and it is going to be a tough one."

Despite being seeded third, a place behind Clijsters, Henin-Hardenne had gone into the match as a slight favourite on the strength of her recent form and her record of tending to win the bigger matches against her compatriot, including the three Grand Slam finals they have contested.