Tennis: Henin Sets Date for Semi-final

Justine Henin stayed on course for her third straight French Open title with a clinical straight-sets win over fellow heavyweight Serena Williams in the quarter-finals today. The world No1 was in dominant mood as she deservedly claimed a 6-4, 6-3 victory over the eighth seed.

Both women received a warmer welcome on Philippe Chatrier court after cricitism of the crowd following the pair's semi-final tussle four years ago. On that occasion, Williams left the court in tears after incurring the spectators' wrath during Henin's three-set win.

This time Williams' suffering was mostly self-inflicted, spilling points thanks to a faltering backhand, while the consistent Henin cleaned up. The top seed needed just one break in the first set and that came in the very first game, Williams failing to put away an overhead and then a simple volley before Henin produced a cross-court winner.

Williams had just one opportunity to break in the first set but she squandered it in the sixth game.

The second set opened up in the same vein as the first, Henin breaking in the opening game after Williams' attempted backhand drop-shot fell well short. The American responded by slamming her racket on to the clay, resulting in a round of boos from the crowd.

Williams managed to recover her poise and broke back to love in the following game but she was still making more errors than the Belgian, whose consistency was earning its rewards. The match continued with serve until the fifth game, when a Williams backhand into the net gave Henin her third break of the contest. Henin was not troubled thereafter and she sealed only her fourth win over the American in 10 attempts when Williams crashed a forehand into the net on the first of the Belgian's two match points.

She will face the fourth seed Jelena Jankovic following her victory over Nicole Vaidisova. The 17-year-old Czech, seeded six, managed to save four match points before finally succumbing 6-3, 7-5.

Meanwhile, Maria Sharapova advanced to the semi-finals for the first time, the world No2 brushing aside her fellow Russian Anna Chakvetadze 6-3, 6-4. Second seed Sharapova, who had never gone beyond the quarter-finals on four previous visits to Roland Garros, needed just 78 minutes to beat the 20-year-old, seeded ninth. The result was a repeat performance of their meeting in the quarter-finals of this year's Australian Open.

The former Wimbledon champion, who is hampered by a sore shoulder and said she felt like a "cow on ice" on clay, will face Serbia's Ana Ivanovic for a place in the final. Adding further Serbian spice to the semi-final line-up, the seventh seed earlier defeated third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-0, 3-6, 6-1 with the Russian struggling with stomach pains during the final set.