Hardenne spoils Clijsters’ birthday party

Once again, Justine Henin-Hardenne rose to the occasion on her favourite stage.

Once again, Justine Henin-Hardenne rose to the occasion on her favourite stage. The two-time French Open champion earned another berth in the final, taking advantage of Belgian compatriot Kim Clijsters’ erratic play to win 6-3, 6-2 on Thursday.

“I have a lot of ambition,” said Henin-Hardenne, the Roland Garros champion in 2003 and 2005. “Beating Kim is special, but I must not relax. I can win a third French Open, and that means a lot.”

Her opponent on Saturday will be 2004 US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, who ended 17-year-old Nicole Vaidisova’s breakthrough week by rallying to win 5-7, 7-6 (5), 6-2.

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Vaidisova served for the match in the second set and was two points from her first Grand Slam final at 5-all in the tiebreaker, but a wave of errors by the teen turned the tide.

“I had my chances, of course. It happens,” said Vaidisova, chomping gum in her postmatch news conference. “Of course I’m disappointed. I love to win and I hate to lose. But I can be proud of how I did.”

Kuznetsova, seeded eighth, drew on her big-match experience and played better as their match progressed. She committed only one unforced error in the final set, winning the first four games and serving well to finish off Vaidisova.

“In the second set, she was just playing unbelievable,” Kuznetsova said. “Finally she got little bit nervous. I know how it feels, because I’ve been there in her position so many times, and I’ve done it.”

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The women’s semifinals took place under a cloudless sky with temperatures around 20 degrees celsius, and Henin-Hardenne was as good as the weather.

“She’s the best clay-court player at the moment, and she played a good match today,” Clijsters said. “I didn’t play well enough to win.” The Belgians dueled mostly from the baseline and Clijsters had the majority of errors, often overhitting.

“I tried to be into the match from the very start,” said Henin-Hardenne, seeking her fifth major title. “I put a lot of pressure on her and I served very well, which was crucial. I forced her to play long rallies, and she didn’t like it too much.”

Playing on her 23rd birthday, reigning US Open champion Clijsters had 29 unforced errors and only nine winners. It was another frustrating finish at Roland Garros for the No. 2-seeded Clijsters, the runner-up in 2001 and 2003.

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The No. 5-seeded Henin-Hardenne earned the first break of the match for a 5-3 lead, then served out the set, hitting a service winner and an ace on the final two points. It was the first set Clijsters had lost in the tournament.

Henin-Hardenne broke again when Clijsters double-faulted and went ahead 3-1 in the second set. The lead grew to 4-2 when Clijsters nearly whiffed on an overhead, and Henin-Hardenne closed out the victory two games later with a service winner.STEVEN WINE