Henin v. Jankovic; Kuz v. Golovin in Stuttgart Semifinals

The first Porsche Tennis Grand Prix Stuttgart semifinal pits No.1 seed Justine Henin against No.3 seed Jelena Jankovic. Henin has beaten Jankovic all seven times they’ve played but their first five matches all went to three sets, and although their last two were straight sets Jankovic still put up a fight in their last encounter in the Toronto final, building leads of 4-1 in the first set and 4-2 in the second set before eventually falling in straight sets, 76(3) 75.

Henin has won 14 matches in a row coming into her semifinal match, having gone 5-0 to win Toronto, 7-0 to win the US Open and 2-0 to reach the semifinals here; what’s more is that all of those victories came in straight sets.

The second semifinal of the day pits No.2 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova against unseeded Tatiana Golovin; the pair has met three times previously, and perhaps surprisingly it is Golovin who holds the head-to-head edge, 2-1.

Kuznetsova has now reached the semifinals in all three of her main draw appearances at this event; unfortunately she has fallen at this stage in both previous tries, in 2004 (to Mauresmo) and last year (to Petrova in three sets).

Golovin has already notched 10 Top 10 victories in her young career, eight of which have come against Russians, including all three this year (Petrova at Indian Wells, Kuznetsova at Toronto and Chakvetadze earlier in the week); the French teenager was also a runner-up in her only previous appearance here last year (to Petrova).

Should Jankovic win the title and Kuznetsova fall in the semifinals, Jankovic would supplant Kuznetsova at No.2, bumping her down to No.3; if that scenario doesn’t play out this weekend, the Top 3 will maintain their rankings; Golovin will rise from No.19 to No.18 with a semifinal finish or runner-up finish, but should she win the title, she’ll vault to No.13, her career Top 15 debut and blowing away her previous career-high of No.16. (WTA)