Justin Henin-Hardenne beat Meghann Shaughnessy of the US 6-4, 6-2 in the semifinals of the Dubai Women's Open on Friday and extended her perfect winning record this year to 13-0.
Henin-Hardenne, the world No. 1 and defending titleholder, will face Svetlana Kuznetsova in Saturday's final after the Russian teenager upset fifth-seeded Ai Sugiyama of Japan 6-0, 7-5.
PHOTO: EPA
It will be a busy day for 18-year-old Kuznetsova, who will also play the doubles final with compatriot Elena Likhovtseva.
PHOTO: AP
Henin-Hardenne, who came to Dubai on the back of her third grand slam triumph at the Australian Open, had to work hard to overcome Shaughnessy, who'd knocked out No. 4 seed Anastasia Myskina.
The Belgian broke for 2-1 thanks to a double fault, but Shaughnessy rallied from the back of the court and tested Henin-Hardenne with accurate groundstrokes.
The American saved two set points at 5-3 down to break, and saved another set point in the next game before Henin-Hardenne closed the set on a superbly angled drop volley after 53 minutes.
With 92 percent success at the net, Henin-Hardenne broke in the third and seventh games of the second set for the match.
"I'm feeling good at the net," Henin-Hardenne said. "I know I have to go there more if I want to win Wimbledon one year. I have to push myself all the time to do that because sometimes I'm afraid of making a mistake or the passing shot. I need to believe in my game there."
She also said she was feeling more confident on hard courts than a year ago.
"For the simple reason that I am much stronger than in the past. I'm not afraid of the power of the other players. I can feel my power and that helps."
Kuznetsova, who eliminated Venus Williams in the quarterfinals, will probably jump into the top 20 next week from her 29th ranking.
She made a blistering start against Sugiyama, taking the first set in only 18 minutes as she unleashed a barrage of forehand winners.
Sugiyama, who won only six points in the first five games, changed tactics in the second set, trying to keep the ball away from Kuznetsova's big forehand, and the move began to pay dividends.
She broke the Russian for the first time at 1-1, rallying from the baseline and waiting for her opponent to make a mistake.
But Kuznetsova stepped up a gear at 4-2 down, pulling back the break with a trademark forehand winner.
The two players then traded breaks, but the Russian took a 6-5 lead with another game dominated by her forehand, and sealed her place in the final when Sugiyama netted a backhand volley.
Kuznetsova, who has two WTA singles titles to her credit, said after the match she was looking forward to her biggest final so far.
"I now feel more relaxed and am enjoying my tennis more," she said. "I'm still not in the best shape and there are so many things I can work on. I still have to work hard and focus on what I am doing."
Copa Colsanitis
Top-seeded Fabiola Zuluaga continued her march to a third successive Copa Colsanitis crown when she breezed past Colombian compatriot Catalina Castano 6-3, 6-0 in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Zuluaga, who has won three of her four WTA Tour singles titles at Bogota, has dropped only three games in the rain-soaked tournament.
In Saturday's semifinals she'll face Lubomira Kurhajcova, who defeated a fellow Slovakian, sixth-seeded Ludmila Cervanova 6-4, 7-6 (3).
Second-seeded Maria Sanchez Lorenzo of Spain overcame Croatian qualifier Lana Popadic 3-6, 6-4, 6-0, and will play third-seeded Emilie Loit of France, who topped Conchita Martinez Granados of Spain for the second time this year, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (7), 6-2.
Open 13
Slovakia's Dominik Hrbaty advanced to the Open 13 semifinals Friday, upsetting No. 4 Max Mirnyi 6-3, 7-6 (10) and staying on course for his third ATP Tour title of the season.
Hrbaty meets Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman, who beat Switzerland's Marc Rosset 7-5, 6-3. The Slovak, who holds six career titles, won the Heineken Open and the AAPT Championships in January.
In another quarterfinal upset, Sweden's Robin Soderling defeated hard-hitting Chilean and No. 5 seed Fernando Gonzalez 7-6 (5), 6-3.
Next up for Soderling, a 19-year-old prospect, was No. 7 Arnaud Clement of France, who was the only seeded player remaining in the tournament.
Clement beat Spain's Alberto Martin 6-3, 6-2.
Brasil Open
Fourth-seeded Agustin Calleri of Argentina beat Luis Horna of Peru 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 in the Brasil Open on Friday and advanced to his fifth career final.
Calleri, who has played all of his ATP finals on clay, has won only one title, in Acapulco last year.
He will meet Gustavo Kuerten in Saturday's final. Kuerten beat Argentina's Jose Acasuso 6-4, 6-3 in the other semifinal.
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