Post by sabz on Jul 6, 2006 18:37:34 GMT 3
Henin-Hardenne powers into final
Justine Henin-Hardenne marched into the Wimbledon final with a straight-sets win over Kim Clijsters.
World number two Clijsters had the edge in the all-Belgian clash early on and broke serve to take a 4-3 lead but Henin-Hardenne roared back.
Clijsters twice led by a break in the second set but once again, she was unable to hold on.
Third seed Henin-Hardenne came through 6-4 7-6 (7-4), her third win in a row over her compatriot.
Victory in Saturday's final against Amelie Mauresmo or Maria Sharapova will complete Henin-Hardenne's set of Grand Slam titles.
The 24-year-old has won 17 straight matches, including titles at Roland Garros and Eastbourne.
"It was tough today," she told BBC Sport. "I was nervous but I played well on the important points.
"She broke me a couple of times but I was always able to come back and I played solidly in the tiebreak.
"I love these situations, when there's a lot of tension and pressure. It's why I play tennis."
Clijsters felt she could not have given any more in her attempt to reach the Wimbledon final for the first time.
"I'm disappointed I lost but I'm still happy with the way I played," she said.
"I went for the lines and I gave her my best tennis. When I've lost to her in Grand Slams before, I was disappointed I wasn't at my best but not this time."
Clijsters dominated the early baseline exchanges and duly broke to lead 4-3.
But the US Open champion, often accused of being too nice for competitive sport, faltered.
That allowed Henin-Hardenne to make several successful incursions to the net and the third seed won three straight games in a row and the last six points to clinch the set.
The match, which had been an error-strewn affair, warmed up at the end of the second set.
Clijsters had already squandered the advantage once when she broke again to lead 6-5 with some brutal hitting from the baseline.
This time, she did little wrong in the next game but Henin-Hardenne produced some dazzling winners to take the set into a tie-break.
Henin-Hardenne, who has five Grand Slam titles to Clijsters' lone US Open triumph, showed her mettle.
Stepping into her returns, she forced errors from her opponent and she clinched the match with a dazzling backhand pass.
and... due to rain delay, rafa's match got postponed to today
Ruthless Nadal moves into semis
Second seed Rafael Nadal cruised past Jarkko Nieminen in straight sets to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals.
Spaniard Nadal, 20, took just two hours and 14 minutes to beat the 22nd-seeded Finn 6-3 6-4 6-4 in a match postponed by a day because of poor weather.
The French Open champion broke his erratic opponent in the fourth game before closing out for the opening set.
He kept up the intensity and saved break points in the second and third sets to continue his march on grass.
The Mallorcan faces Cyprus' Marcos Baghdatis in Friday's semi-final.
Nadal will have to settle for no rest day after frequent downpours and Jonas Bjorkman's drawn-out victory in the other quarter-final on Court One saw the tie postponed by 24 hours.
But the left-hander seemed to enjoy a comfortable work-out on Thursday and was grinning from ear to ear after getting to the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time in three attempts.
"I'm very happy about reaching the semi-finals," he told BBC Sport.
"Just a month ago I was playing on clay but I'm trying and I'm getting good on grass.
On semi-final opponent Baghdatis, he added: "He won very good match with Lleyton Hewitt."
Justine Henin-Hardenne marched into the Wimbledon final with a straight-sets win over Kim Clijsters.
World number two Clijsters had the edge in the all-Belgian clash early on and broke serve to take a 4-3 lead but Henin-Hardenne roared back.
Clijsters twice led by a break in the second set but once again, she was unable to hold on.
Third seed Henin-Hardenne came through 6-4 7-6 (7-4), her third win in a row over her compatriot.
Victory in Saturday's final against Amelie Mauresmo or Maria Sharapova will complete Henin-Hardenne's set of Grand Slam titles.
The 24-year-old has won 17 straight matches, including titles at Roland Garros and Eastbourne.
"It was tough today," she told BBC Sport. "I was nervous but I played well on the important points.
"She broke me a couple of times but I was always able to come back and I played solidly in the tiebreak.
"I love these situations, when there's a lot of tension and pressure. It's why I play tennis."
Clijsters felt she could not have given any more in her attempt to reach the Wimbledon final for the first time.
"I'm disappointed I lost but I'm still happy with the way I played," she said.
"I went for the lines and I gave her my best tennis. When I've lost to her in Grand Slams before, I was disappointed I wasn't at my best but not this time."
Clijsters dominated the early baseline exchanges and duly broke to lead 4-3.
But the US Open champion, often accused of being too nice for competitive sport, faltered.
That allowed Henin-Hardenne to make several successful incursions to the net and the third seed won three straight games in a row and the last six points to clinch the set.
The match, which had been an error-strewn affair, warmed up at the end of the second set.
Clijsters had already squandered the advantage once when she broke again to lead 6-5 with some brutal hitting from the baseline.
This time, she did little wrong in the next game but Henin-Hardenne produced some dazzling winners to take the set into a tie-break.
Henin-Hardenne, who has five Grand Slam titles to Clijsters' lone US Open triumph, showed her mettle.
Stepping into her returns, she forced errors from her opponent and she clinched the match with a dazzling backhand pass.
and... due to rain delay, rafa's match got postponed to today
Ruthless Nadal moves into semis
Second seed Rafael Nadal cruised past Jarkko Nieminen in straight sets to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals.
Spaniard Nadal, 20, took just two hours and 14 minutes to beat the 22nd-seeded Finn 6-3 6-4 6-4 in a match postponed by a day because of poor weather.
The French Open champion broke his erratic opponent in the fourth game before closing out for the opening set.
He kept up the intensity and saved break points in the second and third sets to continue his march on grass.
The Mallorcan faces Cyprus' Marcos Baghdatis in Friday's semi-final.
Nadal will have to settle for no rest day after frequent downpours and Jonas Bjorkman's drawn-out victory in the other quarter-final on Court One saw the tie postponed by 24 hours.
But the left-hander seemed to enjoy a comfortable work-out on Thursday and was grinning from ear to ear after getting to the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time in three attempts.
"I'm very happy about reaching the semi-finals," he told BBC Sport.
"Just a month ago I was playing on clay but I'm trying and I'm getting good on grass.
On semi-final opponent Baghdatis, he added: "He won very good match with Lleyton Hewitt."
Sixpack guard 
AMELIE WON 
