Jubilant: Justine Henin. Reuters
Justine Henin became the first woman for more than six years to beat both the Williams sisters at the same grand slam tournament to reach this morning's US Open final at Flushing Meadows.
Following her victory against Serena in the quarter-finals, the Belgian looked every bit the world
No 1 as she bumped Venus off her orbit in the last four yesterday.
Henin was a 7-6, 6-4 winner against Venus and, after completing the rare double against the Williams family, which has not been done since Martina Hingis achieved the feat at the 2001 Australian Open, Henin must feel she has one hand on the trophy. Venus, the Wimbledon champion, appeared to be feeling unwell during the semifinal, and had her pulse taken by a trainer during the second set.
But before last year's runner-up starts celebrating, she must beat Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final.
It was three years ago that Kuznetsova became the first Russian woman to win the US Open, and she reached her second final after her compatriot, Anna Chakvetadze, melted away in the heat of a New York summer's day. Chakvetadze made some horrible errors in the second and third sets for a 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 defeat.
Henin said: "I want to enjoy this moment now, but I know that tomorrow is going to be another day and I have to be a hundred per cent focussed on that one. I will have to be very, very aggressive. With a lot of determination I believe I can do it."
Kuznetsova stunned the tennis world in 2004 but since then she has struggled at times to maintain her form. This year, though, she has been one of the busiest and most consistent of players on the WTA Tour even though she had to wait until the week before Flushing Meadows before winning another title.
New York, she says, brings out the best in her. "Some players complain about the crowd here, but it's one of my favourite crowds of everywhere," she said.
"It's just kind of showtime. The crowd is always crazy. It pumps me up. Many suprises happen and I love that."
The two players are old adversaries, having played each other 16 times since Wimbledon in 2003 and Henin holds a crushing 14-2 advantage in wins.
