Justine Henin has continued her remarkable return to top tennis with a 7-6 7-5 victory over the 19th seed Nadia Petrova to reach the semi-finals at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
The 27-year-old Belgian is playing only her second tournament back after returning from an 18-month retirement.
The seven-times grand slam winner took a 4-2 lead in the first set before Petrova fought back to force a tie-breaker, which Henin won 7-3.
Petrova then raced away to an early 3-0 advantage in the second set, only for Henin to win four games in a row.
The players then held serve until the final game, when Henin took the initiative with a forehand winner to set up match point, which she converted when a Petrova backhand sailed long.
Henin next plays China's Zheng Jie for a place in the final.
