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Henin defeats Jankovic to reach final

Justine Henin serves to Jelena Jankovic during their semi-final match at the WTA Porsche Grand Prix tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, on Saturday. The tournament winner's prize, a Porsche 911 Turbo Convertible, is in the background. PHOTO: AP

After eight attempts, Jelena Jankovic still can't beat Justine Henin.

"I've lost to her so many times, I really don't know what I need to do to beat her," Jankovic said after losing 7-6 (2), 7-5 on Saturday to top-ranked Henin in the semi-finals of the Porsche Grand Prix.

Henin will play Tatiana Golovin for the title.

Golovin reached her second straight Porsche GP final by upsetting second-ranked Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2, 6-4.

Jankovic, ranked third, squandered a 4-1 lead in the second set.

The match was close and produced some excellent rallies, but Henin was the steadier on big points.

"It was tough again, I had to fight hard, she is a great fighter and a great champion," Henin said. "I stayed cool under pressure."

Henin is now 15-0 since losing the Wimbledon semi-final to Marion Bartoli. That run includes winning the US Open title, and all of the victories were in straight sets.

The 19-year-old Golovin is ranked 17 places below Kuznetsova but she came into the match with a 2-1 career edge.

"I served very well and came out strongly, although I was so nervous this morning I couldn't eat breakfast," Golovin said.

Henin wasted a 5-2 lead in the first set. The Belgian then held a set point on Jankovic's serve at 5-4 but, with the Serb on the ground after retrieving a shot, Henin put an easy smash volley into the net.

Henin lost some confidence with that error but she raised her game again in the tiebreaker, despite missing another smash.

Jankovic held three break points for a 5-1 lead in the second, but Henin then started playing her best tennis.

She hit a perfect lob to win the game and, with Jankovic beginning to tire, Henin began dominating. She broke serve for a 6-5 lead and the match was over when Jankovic netted a drop volley attempt.

"That was the crucial stage of the match, I got tired and my game dropped," Jankovic said of the midpoint in the second set. "I've had some tough matches here and she's fresh."

Henin took three weeks off and this is her first tournament since the US Open.

"We've had some great fights and this was another," Henin said.
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