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MELBOURNE - Two years ago Justine Henin caused a stir by pulling out of the Australian Open final because of illness.
Last year she didn't play in Melbourne at all, instead staying home to sort out marital problems.
This year she is fit, well and happy and she showed it yesterday as she saw off her second round challenger Olga Poutchkova.
Henin, the World No 1 and top seed, beat the 97th-ranked Poutchkova 6-1, 7-5 in a match that tested her, but didn't cause too much stress.
In a first set that took only 22 minutes, Henin hardly allowed her opponent a shot.
Poutchkova finished the set having hit only three winners, her other points coming from Henin's rare errors.
The second appeared to be going the same way with Henin serving for the match at 5-3.
But Poutchkova broke serve and then held to get to 5-5 before the effort told and concentration and skills gave out.
"I'm happy she played better in the second set," Henin said. "It made me concentrate and put some pressure on me."
Henin is a clear-cut favourite to win the Open, an accomplishment which would place her even higher than she is now among the greats of the game.
Henin has won seven Grand Slam singles titles, one of only nine women to have done so.
In 2007 she also became the first woman to win US$$5 million ($6.47 million) in a season, claiming two Grand Slam titles and the Tour Championship.
While the Australian Open is her obvious immediate goal, Henin is devoting her year to winning her first Wimbledon title.
"All Grand Slams are important to me," she said.
"But maybe Wimbledon is more special because I haven't won it."
Ultimately, though, Henin has a loftier ambition - to win all four Grand Slams at least twice.
Meanwhile, the winner of the Marat Safin and Marcos Baghdatis clash tonight will feature in a prime-time Saturday night showdown with Lleyton Hewitt, pound-for-pound the best fighter in the business.
Safin, a three-times Melbourne Park finalist and champion in 2005, and Baghdatis, the 2006 runner-up, both cruised into the second round with straight sets victories in their opening matches.
Safin is unseeded this year but has a habit of rising to the challenge at the year's first Grand Slam, regardless of how he's fared the season before.
The Russian made the final ranked 83rd in the world in 2004 before denying Hewitt in the centenary final the following year.
Dogged by injuries, Safin hasn't won a title since but the ever-dangerous world No 58 again lurks ominously in the talent-stacked top half of the draw.
"I'm playing well, moving well. Knee doesn't hurt. I don't have any injuries. I think if I keep up this way, it's going to be a good year," Safin said.
"It's good to know that you can move around the court without any pain ... It's a pretty good feeling.
"But you need some confidence, to build up the confidence, because I didn't play any great tennis lately. Yeah, I think I will need a little bit more, just a little bit more matches. But it's going to come up this way anyway - big players like Baghdatis, Hewitt in the future."
Baghdatis, the Cypriot showman who won over fans with his against-the-odds run to the final two years ago, is in a similar space as Safin, quietly cautiously confident if not quite yet in full flight.
"I'm ready. I'm ready, but I need some confidence in my game.
"I need to win some matches to find the momentum," he said.
Safin won his only meeting with Baghdatis in straight sets on hard court in Madrid 14 months ago.
"He's a great player. He can play really good tennis," Baghdatis said.
"I'll just go on court and try to find a solution to win."
Baghdatis was pummelled in the second round last year, unable to cope with the huge expectations following his heroics 12 months earlier in Melbourne.
But he said he was better equipped to handle the occasion this time around.
"Last year, I had so much pressure, put so much pressure on myself," he said.
"This year I'm more experienced. I spent two whole years on the circuit.
"That helped me gain some experience and confidence, and I think that's the main difference. I can handle the pressure better than last year."
Hewitt, the 19th seed, is favoured to beat Uzbekistan's world No 216 Denis Istomin in his second-round match, ensuring a mouth-watering meeting with Safin or Baghdatis.
In other feature matches today, top seed Roger Federer plays wily Frenchman Fabrice Santoro, Australian No 2 Peter Luczak takes on 10th seed David Nalbandian and Australian qualifier Alun Jones faces former French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero.
- AAP
