Henin-Hardenne Reaches German Open Final

By ROY KAMMERER

BERLIN – Justine Henin-Hardenne defeated top-ranked Amelie Mauresmo 6-1, 6-2 Saturday to reach the German Open final, where she will meet Nadia Petrova.

Henin-Hardenne needed only 57 minutes to win the most one-sided of her nine meetings with Mauresmo. The Belgian wrapped up victory with a forehand deep into the corner to improve her record to 24-1 at the French Open tuneup she has won three times.

"I’m surprised I beat a player like that so easily," Henin-Hardenne said. "I really played my best level tennis – the best I have played in a long time."

Mauresmo had already played earlier Saturday, beating Martina Hingis in a quarterfinal carried over a day because of darkness. The pair split sets Friday before the match was stopped, and the Frenchwoman charged back from 3-0 and 4-2 down in the final set Saturday to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

"Some would say I was tired, but I won’t do that," Mauresmo said. "Maybe the set against Martina would have been a good warmup if I didn’t play late last night.

"She played very well," Mauresmo said. "I give her all the credit."

Henin-Hardenne will face Petrova on Sunday after the fourth-ranked Russian routed Li Na of China 6-1, 6-0 to pick up her 14th straight win on clay. Li, playing her first major semifinal, had 33 unforced errors to eight by Petrova, whose three titles this year matches Mauresmo for the tour best.

Henin-Hardenne never gave Mauresmo a chance after an opening break. It was their first match since the Australian Open final, which Henin-Hardenne retired from with stomach pains.

"It is revenge, but it has nothing to do with the Australian Open," Henin-Hardenne. "I always want to win against the player that beat me last time."

Mauresmo’s quarterfinal against Hingis had lasted 2 hours, 16 minutes over two days and ended when the Swiss star netted a forehand. Hingis showed she has progressed since returning in January after nearly three years away from the sport with foot and ankle injuries.

The 25-year-old Hingis had been routed by Mauresmo two months ago at Doha, Qatar.

"I have shown I can compete with the best players, now I have to win," Hingis said. "To close out, you have to believe in yourself. I won’t say when I led 4-2 I was nervous, but I missed easy shots.

"This is the best tennis I have played. I don’t want to waste too many more chances like this. This has been a very, very positive week."

The French Open, which starts May 28, is the only Grand Slam she hasn’t won.

"There are other favorites, but I am a good dark horse," she said.