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TORONTO - World tennis No 1 Justine Henin warmed up for the US Open by taming third seed Jelena Jankovic 7-6, 7-5 to capture her second Toronto Cup yesterday.
Playing her first tournament since losing in the semifinals at Wimbledon, the 25-year-old Belgian was quickly back to her best and lifted her sixth title in 2007. She raced through the US$1.3 million ($1.9 million) event without dropping a set.
A near-capacity centre court crowd was treated to a display of high-quality tennis as Henin continued her domination over Jankovic and improved her head-to-head record against the Serb to 7-0.
Henin, however, was made to work hard for her 35th career win, needing six match points and 2h 18m to defeat a determined Jankovic.
The victory provides the perfect buildup to the US Open for the French Open champion, who will take next week off before launching her bid for a second Grand Slam victory of the year.
Bothered by a sore right shoulder that flared up during her semifinal win over China's Yan Zi on Saturday, Henin had warned officials that there was only a 50/50 chance she would play.
After receiving intensive treatment on the sore joint, the six-times Grand Slam winner managed to walk out for the match.
The Belgian occasionally grimaced but otherwise showed no signs of distress during the encounter.
"Last night there was almost no chance I would play, I was really concerned my shoulder was really inflamed," Henin said.
"I was feeling 100 per cent during the match but it will be sore for a few days.
"I will be fine for the Open but I was really concerned for today."
Jankovic, who was easily thrashed by the world number one when they last met at the French Open semifinals, looked determined to end Henin's domination and secured an early break to open a 3-1 lead in the opening set.
But Henin, who had been slow to get into a rhythm all week, eventually began to find her mark. She broke back in the seventh game to take control at 6-5. Jankovic also displayed a fighting spirit to break right back and force a tiebreak.
After Henin sealed it 7-3, the 22-year-old Serb refused to cave in and broke Henin at the start of the second.
But few players can match Henin's tenacity, which was on full display during the pivotal 11th game.
Henin had to contest 24 points in 18 minutes before she could hold serve to take a 6-5 lead.
"I give her one finger and she takes the whole hand," Jankovic said.
- Reuters
