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Henin sets up semi-final clash with Swiss outsider

Daniela Hantuchova passes Timea Bacsinszky after retiring from their quarter-final clash at the WTA Diamond Games on Friday in Antwerp, Belgium. PHOTO: AFP

Home favorite Justine Henin eased past Russian qualifier Alisa Kleybanova 6-4, 6-3 to reach the semi-finals of the WTA Diamond Games on Friday.

The world No. 1, who is playing for the final time in Belgium as the tournament ends its run due to a calendar change, was due to face off yesterday against another outsider in the shape of Timea Bacsinszky.

The Swiss qualifier progressed when third seeded Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova pulled out of their quarter-final suffering from a heavy cold while trailing 6-2, 4-6, 4-1.

Top seed Henin reached a set and 5-2 against her opponent, only to drop serve while trying to close out victory. But she managed it a game later with a break-back to advance in front of a sell-out 13,000 crowd.

Henin is trying to win a title at home for the first time to add to her career total of 40 including seven Grand Slams.

"I didn't know much about my opponent before the match," Henin said. "But I knew it would not be easy."

"You don't get this far without playing well. I was able to improve from my first match and I'm so happy to be in the semi-finals at home," she said.

Henin last played in Belgium five years ago when she reached the semi-finals here.

This week is her first competition since going out in the Australian Open quarter-finals to Maria Sharapova which was her first loss since Wimbledon last summer.

Against Bacsinszky, Hantuchova was troubled by a cold which got steadily worse the more she tried to forget about it.

"I don't know why I waited until the third set to stop," Hantuchova said. "I can't believe I stayed out there for almost two hours."

Hantuchova said she was sick when she arrived in Antwerp and had been fighting illness for nearly a week.

"I thought it would get better, but out there today it only got worse. I could barely stand on the court and was tired after playing for five seconds," she said.

The win was the biggest in the career of the 94th-ranked, 18-year-old Bacinszky.

"I felt I played a solid match against the number eight," she said.

"I've been playing well this year and I want to maintain consistency. I came out of qualifying and had nothing to lose. Against Justine it will be the same," she said.

Bacinszky went into Friday's match having only once previously beaten a top 20 player and that was in Zurich in 2006 when she saw off former French Open champion Anastasia Myskina.

The second set of Friday's error-strewn match featured breaks in seven of ten games, with the Swiss earning a break early in the third before Hantuchova finally stopped.

Italian outsider Karin Knapp upset Swiss fourth seed Patty Schnyder 6-2, 6-7 (1/7), 7-6 (7/2).

The 20-year-old, ranked 47th, was due to face Chinese ninth seed Li Na.

The 25 year-old Wuhan-born right-hander saw off Swedish lucky loser Sofia Arvidsson 7-5, 6-4, in the other semi-final.

Li is chasing her second WTA singles title of the year having won in Gold Coast, Australia, last month.
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