Henin-Hardenne outlasts fellow Belgian

Published Thursday, June 8, 2006

PARIS (AP) - Once again, Justine Henin-Hardenne rose to the occasion on her favorite stage.

The two-time French Open champion earned another berth in the final, taking advantage of Belgian compatriot Kim Clijsters’ erratic play to win 6-3, 6-2 today.

Henin-Hardenne won the tournament in 2003 and 2005. Her opponent Saturday will be 2004 U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, who ended 17-year-old Nicole Vaidisova’s breakthrough week by rallying to win 5-7, 7-6 (5), 6-2.

Vaidisova served for the match in the second set and was two points from her first Grand Slam final at 5-all in the tiebreaker, but a wave of errors by the teen turned the tide.

"I had my chances, of course. It happens," said Vaidisova, chomping gum in her postmatch news conference. "Of course I’m disappointed. I love to win and I hate to lose. But I can be proud of how I did."

Kuznetsova, seeded eighth, drew on her big-match experience and played better as the match progressed. She committed only one unforced error in the final set, winning the first four games and serving well to close out the victory.

In the men’s semifinals tomorrow, No. 3-seeded David Nalbandian and No. 4 Ivan Ljubicic will try to play spoilers, with top-ranked Roger Federer and defending champion Rafael Nadal one round from a much-anticipated showdown in the final.

Nalbandian is a clear threat, taking a 7-6 record against Federer into their semifinal match. By contrast, Ljubicic will be a substantial underdog against the second-seeded Nadal, who is 12-0 at Roland Garros and has won an Open-era record 58 consecutive clay-court matches.

"That streak has to finish one day," Ljubicic said. "I hope that’s going to be on Friday. He cannot win forever, and everybody knows that."

It’s the first time since 1985 that the four top-seeded men have reached the semifinals at Roland Garros.

The women’s semifinals were held under a cloudless sky with temperatures around 80 degrees, and Henin-Hardenne was as good as the weather.

She had some help. The Belgians dueled mostly from the baseline and Clijsters had the majority of errors, often overhitting.

Playing on her 23rd birthday, reigning U.S. Open champion Clijsters had 29 unforced errors and only nine winners. It was another frustrating finish at Roland Garros for the No. 2-seeded Clijsters, the runner-up in 2001 and 2003.

Seeded fifth, Henin-Hardenne earned the first break of the match for a 5-3 lead, then served out the set, hitting a service winner and an ace on the final two points of the match.

It was the first set Clijsters had lost in the tournament.

Henin-Hardenne broke again when Clijsters double-faulted and went ahead 3-1 in the second set. The lead grew to 4-2 when Clijsters nearly whiffed on an overhead, and Henin-Hardenne closed out the victory two games later with a service winner.

It’s the fourth consecutive time that Henin-Hardenne has beaten Clijsters in a major event.

Vaidisova played the way she did earlier this week in upset victories over top-ranked Amelie Mauresmo and reigning Wimbledon champion Venus Williams. Vaidisova hit aggressively from both wings, served well, seized chances to charge the net and feasted on Kuznetsova’s weak second serve.

The match offered a contrast in styles: the 16th-seeded Vaidisova’s flat shots and little margin of error, versus Kuznetsova’s more conservative, less aggressive groundstrokes with heavy topspin.

And ultimately, Vaidisova’s risky approach backfired. She finished with 54 winners but also 47 unforced errors. Kuznetsova committed 19 errors, 13 in the first set.

Kuznetsova was two points from winning the first set at 5-3, 30-15, but Vaidisova rallied by winning 15 of the final 18 points in the set.

The Florida-based Czech took a 2-0 lead in the second set and served for the match at 5-4. She lost the first point, then on the second hit a forehand ruled good for a winner. Kuznetsova appealed the call, and the chair umpire ruled the ball long after checking the mark.

Vaidisova covered her mouth and staggered in surprise, then proceeded to lose the game, double-faulting on break point to make it 5-all. She managed to smile at the lapse.

"At 5-4 serving, you’re still a long way from winning," she said. "I don’t think I got crazy nervous or started shaking. It was more me just not serving very well."

Vaidisova held serve two games later to force the tiebreaker and was two points from the final at 5-all. But she blew a forehand putaway, then yanked a backhand long to lose the set and even the match.