Justine Henin sounded out a warning to Serena Williams as she blew away Zheng Jie in the semi-final of the Australian Open.
Belgian wildcard too strong for Chinese ace
Justine Henin sounded out a warning to defending champion Serena Williams as she blew away Zheng Jie in the semi-final of the Australian Open.
Henin will meet Williams in the final in Melbourne on Saturday after a comprehensive rout of the unseeded Chinese star.
Henin, a seven-time Grand Slam champion, rattled off 12 games on the bounce to secure a 6-1 6-0 victory over Zheng in just 51 minutes.
"The dream continues," said Henin, who has beaten world No.5 Elena Dementieva, Yanina Wickmayer and Nadia Petrova on her way to the final. "I am going to play the number one and defending champion.
"I wasn't sure about what I would feel on the court and how things would go. I have just enjoyed my tennis and taken it step by step.
"I can't wait for the final now, it is an amazing feeling."
Class
The Belgian was handed a wildcard to the tournament having only just returned to action after retirement.
Her first tournament back saw her reach the final in Brisbane and now three weeks into her comeback, Henin will look to lift her second Australian Open title.
And in this sort of form, few will bet against the 27-year-old claiming her eighth Grand Slam.
Henin, who quit the sport as world No.1 20 months ago, simply had too much class for Zheng on the Rod Laver Arena.
The Chinese star, who had seen her compatriot Li Na lose out to Williams in the first semi-final, actually won the first game of the match - but that was as good as it got.
Henin won every game from there - breaking Zheng, who had no answer to her opponent's forehand, with easy.
