BERLIN -- Top-seeded Justine Henin rallied from 4-0 down in
the final set against Jelena Jankovic and reached the German Open
semifinals with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win on Saturday.
Henin, chasing her fourth title at the key French Open tuneup,
completed the comeback with an overhead smash, then stepped on the
court again a few hours later to face third-seeded Svetlana
Kuznetsova in the semifinals.
Downpours stopped the match with the 2004 U.S. Open champion
leading Henin 6-4, 5-7, 3-2.
They will finish their match Sunday, and the winner will face
12th-seeded Ana Ivanovic later in the final. The Serb teenager
advanced when Julia Vakulenko quit with a right wrist injury while
trailing 4-3 in the first set.
Henin played flawless tennis against the fifth-seeded Jankovic
after she trailed 4-0 in the deciding set.
"She played unbelievably -- she didn't make a mistake until it
was 4-4 or something," Jankovic said. "I'm very disappointed."
Henin's array of winners down the line, drop shots and pinpoint
passing shorts forced a scream of frustration from Jankovic at one
stage.
The match was stopped Friday because of darkness -- with Jankovic
ahead 6-3, 4-4 -- then halted twice by rain.
Jankovic has improved to sixth in the rankings after two recent
titles, but this was her fifth straight three-set loss to the
world's top-ranked player.
Henin also charged back to win at the U.S. Open semifinals
against Jankovic when trailing 5-3 in the second set.
"She is a champion. She is the only one I have trouble against
-- I have beaten all the other top 10 players," said Jankovic, who
also was eliminated last week in Warsaw by Henin.
The 19-year-old Ivanovic will play her second final.
"It's never nice to win this way," Ivanovic said. "I am just
looking forward to the challenge of playing the final."
Vakulenko's right wrist also forced the Ukrainian out of the
quarterfinals at Warsaw, where she beat Kim Clijsters in the
Belgian's last match before retirement.
Vakulenko, taking painkillers, upset both third-ranked Amelie
Mauresmo and No. 10 Dinara Safina on Friday.