BRISBANE, Australia - There will be a dream final in Brisbane Saturday, with comeback queens and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour greats Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin winning semifinals in straight sets at the event on Friday.
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Henin was the first to advance to the final; the Belgian, unranked and playing the first tournament of her comeback as a wildcard, beat No.3 seed Ana Ivanovic in 66 minutes, 63 62. Though this is her first tournament since she retired in May 2008, it was not a huge upset given Henin was 4-0 against her beforehand.
"Ana hits the ball very hard and pushed me at the beginning of the match, but I waited for my opportunities and played consistently today," said Henin, who was pushed to a third set tie-break in her quarterfinal match a day earlier. "I felt much better on court than I did yesterday. I slept well and had a good recovery."
Clijsters returned to the Tour last summer and just weeks later took her second Grand Slam singles title at the US Open; already back in the Top 20 and the top seed here, she followed compatriot Henin into the final in the feature night match, beating unseeded Andrea Petkovic in an hour and 21 minutes, 64 62.
The Henin-Clijsters rivalry is one of the deepest on the Tour, and few people probably imagined it would ever resume, let alone in the first week of 2010. On the Tour they are 10-10; overall Henin leads 12-10, with wins in their first two meetings on the ITF Women's Circuit. Most famously, however, were their Grand Slam final duels, with Henin topping Clijsters at the 2003 French Open, the 2003 US Open and 2004 Australian Open. Check their head-to-head.
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Clijsters is going for her 36th singles title on the Tour, Henin her 42nd.
"I'll just be there and enjoy the match," Henin said of the final. "It's my first tournament after coming back and I'm in the final, so it's the perfect situation."
"I think nobody expected to see Justine and I in the final," Clijsters said. "It's fun and exciting. It's good to get a feel of playing big players at the beginning of the year. It's a good start for both of us and good experience before Melbourne.
"There's a great fighting spirit in her. She doesn't give up. In the past we pushed each other to be better players. I hope we both play good tennis tomorrow."
