In an up-and-down match featuring a total of nine service breaks, Henin managed to win the key points. Petrova, ranked and seeded No. 19 committed 41 unforced errors to Henin’s 26.
“Even if I wasn’t at my best, I was able to put the pressure on in the important points,” said Henin in a post-match interview with ESPN.
Henin, 27, gained admission into the Australian Open on a wild-card entry.
Henin took advantage of Petrova’s weak second serve. Petrova only won a third of the points on her second serve.
Russian Petrova crushed Kim Clijsters 6–0, 6–1 in the third round preventing a rematch between the two Belgians. Clijsters beat Henin in a third-set tiebreak at a warmup tournament in Brisbane earlier this month.
The Belgian is competing in only her second tournament since coming out of retirement earlier this month. She won the Australian Open in 2004.
“I’m very surprised [to be in the semifinal],” said Henin. “I feel more mature, more calm after my time away from the tour.”
Henin will next face Jie Zheng of China in the semifinal on Tuesday in Australia. The bottom half of the women’s draw is now guaranteed to produce an unseeded finalist.
