January 14, 2006	Saturday	Zilhaj 13, 1426

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)

SYDNEY, Jan 13: Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne twice clawed herself back from the brink of defeat to beat Italy’s Francesca Schiavone 4-6 7-5 7-5 in the final of the Sydney International on Friday.

Schiavone looked to be on her way to her first WTA Tour title when she led 6-4 4-1 in the second set then again when she served for the match at 5-3 in the third.

But the former world number one drew on all her big-match experience to fight back on both occasions, raising her game as the errors started to creep into Schiavone’s game.

The Italian, who had lost each of her five previous WTA Tour titles, was a point away from grabbing a 5-1 lead in the second set.

However, Henin-Hardenne regained her composure, holding serve for 2-4 then reeling off five of the next six games to square the match.

Schiavone jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the deciding set and although the fifth seed pulled back to 3-3, she broke again to serve for the match at 5-3.

Henin-Hardenne broke when Schiavone double-faulted then unleashed a ferocious return forehand down the line to lead 6-5.

There was more drama in the final game when a sudden shower forced the players to scurry from the court with Henin-Hardenne three points from victory.

But they returned once the rain passed, with Henin-Hardenne hitting a winning forehand to seal victory after three hours to remain unbeaten in Australia for three years and go into next week’s Australian Open with renewed confidence.

Their clash overshadowed two upsets in the men’s semi-finals as American James Blake and Russia’s Igor Andreev booked their place in Saturday’s final.

Blake defeated Russian second seed Nikolay Davydenko 6-4 6-2 while Andreev ousted Italian qualifier Andreas Seppi 6-2 2-6 6-2.

Seppi staged his own comeback to beat Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt in Thursday’s quarter-finals but was unable to repeat that performance against Andreev, who won three titles on clay last year but is playing his first final on a hardcourt.

Federer triumphs

MELBOURNE: World number one Roger Federer wrapped up his preparations for next week’s Australian Open with victory over Max Mirnyi to finish fifth at the Kooyong Classic on Friday and said he was ready for the year’s first grand slam.

On Friday Federer produced some of the deft touch and acute angles in the next two sets that have made him virtually unbeatable on the men’s circuit in the last two years to record a 6-7 6-4 7-6 victory.

Blake, Andreev in final

SYDNEY: American James Blake will play Russia’s Igor Andreev in the final of the Sydney International after both scored unexpected wins in Friday’s semifinals.

Blake upset Russian second seed Nikolay Davydenko 6-4 6-2 while Andreev ousted Italian qualifier Andreas Seppi 6-2 2-6 6-2.

Honours for Krajicek

MELBOURNE: Michaella Krajicek won her second WTA Tour title when she thrashed occasional practice partner Iveta Benesova 6-2 6-1 in just 49 minutes at the Hobart International on Friday.

Dutch Krajicek dropped just one set in four matches on her way to the final and came out firing from the start, breaking the Czech fifth seed five times.

Medina Garrigues wins

SYDNEY: Spain’s Anabel Medina Garrigues overcame a mid-match slump to beat South Korean Cho Yoon-jeong 6-4 0-6 6-4 to win the Canberra Classic on Friday.—Agencies