Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters set up an intriguing final at the Brisbane International.
Henin outplayed Ana Ivanovic with a fine display. Her backhand firing, Henin was far too consistent for Ivanovic who struggled with her serve during the 6-3, 6-2 defeat.
Ivanovic has been plagued by an erratic ball toss and with Henin putting the pressure on with her returns, the Serbian’s serve folded as the match went on.
Clijsters defeated Andrea Petkovic 6-4, 6-2 in a match which was always going one way once Clijsters had settled after an indifferent start.
Henin said afterwards that she is surprised her form has returned so quickly. “It’s not as easy as it seems on the court because 18 months with no competition it’s not that easy,” she said.”I didn’t know really what to expect but it’s more than what I could expect for being in the final.”
Despite being the faces of the sport in their country for such a long time, there have been tensions between Henin and Clijsters’ camps in the past but Clijsters insisted that there is no animosity between the two players, just mutual respect.
“There is so much respect between the two of us so, I know sometimes people would love to hear there have been problems between us but that’s not the case – never in the past,” she said. “I think I respect the person and the player and it’s the same for her."
“We are so different. But we have good memories. When we were younger we were travelling a lot together – the same tournaments – but after that we grew up differently and went in different directions. It’s always a good feeling to play against her because it’s always a tough match and it’s always a good challenge. I think we’ve helped each other a lot in our careers to get better and I think that’s very good.”
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