Schiavone ends Henin's winning run

Dubai: Italian Francesca Schiavone possibly played the biggest match of her career to halt top seed and world No 1 Justine Henin with a gritty 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4) win in the quarterfinals of the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships last night.

Though the four-time defending champion gave it her best shot, the plucky Italian seemed to have a perfect answer in the gripping contest to bring Henin's winning record of 17 here to a grinding halt.

The win also gave the Italian her first-ever win against Henin in eight career meetings starting way back in 2001. The last time the two met was in the third round of the Australian Open where Henin went on to win 7-5, 6-4.

Last night's result was also a score settled, albeit with a two-year gap, following the Belgian's 6-4, 7-6 (5) win against Schiavone in the quarterfinal of the 2006 edition here.

“It has been a great night for me and the secret was my willingness to push a little bit more this time,'' Schiavone said after the match.

Second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova overcame a late rusty patch for a 6-1, 7-6 (4) win over Frenchwoman, doubles partner and friend Amelie Mauresmo.

Fourth seed Jelena Jank-ovic eased into the next stage for a meeting against Kuznetsova when sixth seed Anna Chakvetadze limped out with a left thigh injury after losing the first set 6-1.

Tough battle

Kuznetsova was also bracing herself for a tough semifinal battle.

“When you reach the later stages of the tournament, you cannot afford to make too many mistakes. You go a bit low on your level and you lose or you raise your level and you win the match,'' Kuznetsova stated.

Yesterday's win for Kuz-netsova set the record straight between Mauresmo and the Russian at 4-4.

“I played much better between 3-2 and 5-3, but the tie-break was not up to the mark,'' Mauresmo lamented.

In the second quarterfinal, Jankovic was in total command as she barely allowed Chakvetadze any liberty pinning her to the baseline.