Flushing Meadows, NY (Sports Network) - In a rematch of last year's French Open final, Justine Henin and Svetlana Kuznetsova will square off in Saturday's title match at the 2007 U.S. Open.The top-seeded/world No. 1 Henin held off 12th-seeded American Venus Williams 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 in the second of Friday's semifinals at Ashe Stadium. The steady Henin has yet to drop a set at this '07 fortnight.
The first set was extremely tight before Henin was able to dominate in the tiebreak. The Belgian then ran out to a 3-0, 40-15 lead in the second set, only to see Williams fight back to level things at 3-3.
Henin fought off three break points in the seventh game of the second stanza, went on to win the game and ultimately advanced three games later by breaking Williams, who sent one final backhand wide after two hours of hard-hitting tennis.
Williams wound up with 35 unforced errors and had her serve broken four times en route to defeat. The American broke Henin on three occasions.
Henin improved to 2-7 lifetime against Williams, who had won their previous seven matchups, dating back to 2001, a year in which the American topped the Belgian in the Wimbledon finale. Williams was a perfect 3-0 in their Grand Slam meetings before Friday, but the two had never met in New York.
The 25-year-old Henin handled Williams' younger sister Serena in straight sets in a quarterfinal here on Tuesday night. It marked the third straight Grand Slam quarterfinal victory for Henin against Serena in the last few months.
Henin owns six major titles, including her third straight and fourth overall French Open championship earlier this season. The diminutive Belgian was last year's U.S. Open runner-up to Russian superstar Maria Sharapova and titled here in Flushing back in 2003.
The 27-year-old Venus also owns six major titles, including a fourth Wimbledon championship in July. The former top-ranked star captured the U.S. Open back- to-back in 2000 and 2001 and is also a two-time runner-up in the Big Apple.
Henin will seek her 36th career title, and has already captured six this season. She'll appear in her 11th career Grand Slam final (6-4) and will compete in her sixth major title bout in her last seven tries. Henin appeared in all four Grand Slam finals last year, skipped this year's Aussie Open and captured Roland Garros back in June.
Kuznetsova will appear in her second U.S. Open final in four years after beating her fellow Russian Anna Chakvetadze on Day 12.
The fourth-seeded Kuznetsova overcame the sixth-seeded Chakvetadze 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 on another sunny day at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Kuznetsova advanced in 1 hour, 36 minutes after playing a shaky first set. Chakvetadze was unable to sustain any momentum after taking the first stanza, and wound up losing 12 of the final 13 games to bow out in a sloppy affair.
Chakvetadze struggled mightily and finished with 46 unforced errors and four double faults. Kuznetsova, herself, misfired for 35 unforced errors.
Kuznetsova is now 3-0 lifetime against the 20-year-old Chakvetadze, who was appearing in her first-ever major semi.
The St. Petersburg native Kuznetsova captured the 2004 U.S. Open by beating Elena Dementieva in an all-Russian final and she was last year's French Open runner-up to Henin.
The 22-year-old Kuznetsova will appear in her 21st career final (9-11), which includes a victory in New Haven the week before this Open fortnight commenced. She's 1-4 in her 2007 finals and currently riding a 10-match overall winning streak.
Henin is a dominant 14-2 lifetime against Kuznetsova, but the Russian did win their last meeting in Berlin earlier this year. Henin is 2-1 in their 2007 meetings, including a win in a final in Dubai.
The gritty Henin is a perfect 4-0 versus Kuznetsova in their Grand Slam matchups, but they've never met at the U.S. Open.
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