KEY POINTS:
World number one Justine Henin's 17-match winning streak at the Dubai women's championships ended when she was beaten 7-6, 7-6 by unseeded Italian Francesca Schiavone in the quarter-finals.
The Belgian top-seed made an unusual number of unforced errors as the feisty Italian ran her opponent all over the court and chased every ball.
"She played well but I didn't take the opportunities and wasn't brave enough. She was better than me, as simple as that," four-time Dubai champion Henin said. She said she felt tired after taking three hours to defeat Katarina Srebotnik on Wednesday.
Schiavone rallied superbly, executing some astonishing shots on the run.
Henin held just one break point in the first set, at 2-2, but made a forehand error. She was unable to earn another opportunity and then played a dismal tie-break, losing it 7-3.
Schiavone then broke to lead 3-2 in the second set by forcing a backhand error and as Henin continued to struggle the Italian broke again, at love, to lead 5-2. Schiavone then twice failed to serve out the match, despite holding a match point at 5-4.
But Henin once more played a poor tiebreak, losing the last four points as Schiavone took it 7-4.
- REUTERS