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Posted at 5:40 a.m., Saturday, May 12, 2007

Henin, down 4-0 in third set, rallies to beat Jankovic

By Roy Kammerer
Associated Press

BERLIN — Top-seeded Justine Henin rallied from 4-0 down in the final set against Jelena Jankovic to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 today and reach the German Open semifinals.

Henin, chasing her fourth title at the French Open tuneup, completed the comeback with an overhead smash that set up a semifinal matchup later today against third-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova.

They will be competing for a place in tomorrow's final against 12th-seeded Ana Ivanovic, who advanced in the rain-delayed tournament when Julia Vakulenko quit with a right wrist injury while trailing 4-3 in the first set.

Down 4-0 in the final set, Henin played flawless tennis against the fifth-seeded Jankovic.

"She played unbelievably — she didn't make a mistake until it was 4-4 or something," Jankovic said. "I'm very disappointed."

Henin's array of winners down the line, drop shots and pinpoint passing shorts forced a scream of frustration from Jankovic at one point.

The match was stopped yesterday due to darkness — with Jankovic ahead 6-3, 4-4 — then halted twice by rain.