Henin Title Favorite in WTA Sydney FinalPosted on January 13, 2006 It hasn't taken long for former No. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne to get up to speed this week at the WTA stop in Sydney. After returning from a leg injury at the end of 2005, and in her first event back beating Martina Hingis in her opener, Thursday the Belgian thrashed No. 6 seed and former US Open winner Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 6-1 to gain the final.
"I've never been so relaxed on the tennis court before," Henin-Hardenne said. "That was great, I was feeling amazing. It felt like I hadn't stopped playing for four months. I'm happy with the way I'm playing right now and hope I can keep it going." In the final the No. 5-seeded Belgian will face No. 7 Francesca Schiavone, who will be looking for her first career title in her seventh final after a 6-4, 6-3 semifinal win over No. 8 Nicole Vaidisova. Henin-Hardenne has beaten the Italian in all three of their career meetings without dropping a set. "(Henin-Hardenne) is very focused every point," Schiavone said. "She can see the play, you know. She know always what to do and what you are doing. So I think that she has the ball and she can see inside (crystal ball)." The doubles final will be (4) Ruano Pascual/Suarez (d. (2) Groenefeld/Huber in the semis) vs. (3) Morariu/Stubbs (d. (1) Raymond/Stosur in three). |
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