Henin-Hardenne Upsets Serena at Open
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By STEVEN WINE, AP Sports Writer

PARIS - Serena Williams (news - web sites)' Grand Slam reign is over.

Her bid for a fifth consecutive major title ended Thursday when Justine Henin-Hardenne won 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 in the semifinals of the French Open (news - web sites).

Williams had won 33 matches in a row at major events, a streak that began last year at Roland Garros and was the sixth longest in the Open era.

The upset ensures the first all-Belgian final in Grand Slam history. On Saturday, No. 4-seeded Henin-Hardenne will play No. 2 Kim Clijsters, who benefited from a little luck to erase a set point and beat unseeded Nadia Petrova 7-5, 6-1 in the other semifinal.


Henin-Hardenne's upset delighted the center-court crowd, and at one point fans were cheering even when Williams missed a serve. That was in the seventh game of the final set, when the crowd was upset by several close calls that went against Henin-Hardenne.


The development so rattled Williams that she lost four consecutive points and her serve, leaving her with a 4-3 lead.


Henin-Hardenne held for 4-all, then broke again, before nerves got the best of the Belgian. Serving for the match, she double-faulted twice and hit two errant groundstrokes to lose the game at love.


She regrouped in the next game, and consecutive backhand errors by Williams gave Henin-Hardenne a 6-5 lead.


This time, Henin-Hardenne served it out. She hit a perfect lob and two service winners to reach 40-0, and on match point Williams yanked a backhand return wide.


Clijsters edged Henin-Hardenne in the 2001 semifinals, and was two points from the title before losing the final to Jennifer Capriati.


Henin-Hardenne will be playing in her second Grand Slam final. Venus Williams (news - web sites) beat her to win the 2001 Wimbledon (news - web sites) title.


The Belgian has long drawn raves for possessing the sport's best backhand, and she can now also claim the honor of being Serena Williams' chief nemesis. Williams was 21-0 this year before losing to Henin-Hardenne at Charleston, S.C., on April 13.


The latest upset was perhaps even more surprising, given that Williams had lost only 19 games and no sets in five previous matches at Roland Garros.


Williams was outplayed at start by Henin-Hardenne, who was more relaxed, moved better and showed more patience and consistency with her shots. Henin-Hardenne hit aggressively enough to keep the defending champion off balance, and served smartly to neutralize Williams' normally ferocious returns.


The Belgian won 13 of the first 18 points. She whipped a backhand winner to break in the opening game, then broke again at love to lead 3-0.


Henin-Hardenne had Williams lunging for shots and hitting wildly, and in the first set she even had an edge in winners, 10-9.

After both players held serve four times in a row, they traded three consecutive breaks. Williams cracked a backhand to take the set and even the match.

In the earlier semifinal, Clijsters struggled with an erratic forehand early and lost the first service break to trail 5-4. Facing set point in the next game, Clijsters hit a backhand drop shot that clipped the net, then fell on Petrova's side for a winner.

Consecutive backhands into the net by Petrova gave Clijsters the game to make it 5-all, and the turnabout deflated the unseeded Russian. She was broken again two games later to lose the set as Clijsters began to pull away, winning nine of the final 10 games.

"I was a little bit down when she touched the let cord," Petrova said.

"Definitely, I think those things can really turn sets around and matches around," Clijsters said. "I was struggling a little with my forehand and not feeling the rhythm. Once I broke her that first time, I felt comfortable I could do it."

Petrova, the first female Russian semifinalist at the French Open in 28 years, played with impressive poise at the start. But the net cord on set point wasn't her only missed opportunity — she converted just one of eight break-point chances, all in the opening set.

Clijsters won 10 consecutive points to lead 4-1 in the second set. On match point she hit another backhand drop shot, and this time it didn't clip the net, landing for a clean winner.

One of the men's semifinals Friday will be an all-Spanish rematch of last year's final, with defending champion and marathon man Albert Costa (news) facing No. 3-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero. Costa is the first player to win four five-set matches in a single French Open.

The other match will be between No. 7 Guillermo Coria and unseeded Martin Verkerk.