Henin, Mauresmo to Battle for Dubai Title

Dubai, U.A.E. - After Friday's semifinals, the top two seeds at the $1.5-million Dubai Duty Free Women's Open will go to battle for the singles crown as Justine Henin takes on Amelie Mauresmo.

Top seed and three-time Dubai champion Henin almost had her perfect Dubai winning streak snapped in her semifinal against No.3 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Henin, the 2006 defending champion, had a nervous start, dropping her serve and double-faulting to go down 4-1 in the first. Kuznetsova continued her strong offense, moving to the net and forcing errors from Henin, who dropped the first set.

“I knew she had a lot of motivation and I could feel that she was really on the court to give me a hard time,” Henin said. “I could feel it in the first set. She was hitting the ball very hard, and she was in the court and I was too far from my baseline."

After losing the first set, Henin found a way into the match and broke Kuznetsova's serve for an early lead in the second.

But Kuznetsova continued to pressure the Belgian and brought the set to 4-all.

Henin hung in tough and broke again to go up 5-4. After squandering three set points, she finally capitalized on her fourth set point to even the score at one set all.

"Slowly, in the second set, things were changing and that allowed me to come back into the match. I was leading 4-1 and she came back to 4-4, but I had a better attitude at that point and I just kept fighting," Henin added.

In the decisive third set, Henin turned it up a notch while Kuznetsova ran out of steam, failing to win one game. Henin closed out the match, 16 64 60, in one hour, 54 minutes, and now has a chance to defend and win her fourth Dubai Duty Free Women's Open singles title.

“From 4-4 (in the second set) to the end of the match, it was my best tennis, no more mistakes," said Henin, who now boasts a 15-0 record at Dubai. "I just went for the winners, good choices, and I’m happy the way the match ended for sure.”

Henin will take on No.2 seed Mauresmo in the championship match, which will be the first time in the tournament's seven-year history that the top two seeds are featured in a singles final.

Mauresmo is through to her second straight singles final this year after her semifinal opponent, No.5 seed Jelena Jankovic, retired with a left ankle sprain after the first set.

Down 5-2 in the first set, Jankovic twisted her ankle hitting a backhand. She tried to continue but after losing the first set, 62, was forced to retire with a left ankle sprain.

"It was a sharp pain," Jankovic said. "It was hurting really bad, and right away, it was swollen. The physio put tape (on it), but it was so painful. I couldn't serve or land on my foot or continue to play. It's very disappointing for me to retire in the semifinal, and I hope the injury is not severe."

Mauresmo is hoping to win back-to-back titles after claiming the Antwerp title last Sunday. Against Henin, she has a 6-6 head-to-head record and the last time they played each other was in last year's season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships final, which Henin won, 64 63.

The doubles final will feature this year's hottest team, No.1 seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber, against wildcards Kuznetsova and Alicia Molik.

Saturday's final day action will begin with the doubles final at 5 p.m. local time, followed by the singles final to start no earlier than 7 p.m. (WTA)