Posted at 12:52 a.m., Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Tennis: Henin advances to quarterfinals at Sydney
Associated Press
SYDNEY, Australia — Justine Henin advanced to the quarterfinals of the Sydney International without playing a match.Henin moved on today when Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic was unable to play her second-round match due to a strained buttock. She had already received a first-round bye because she was among the tournament's top four seeds.
A two-time Sydney champion, Henin will have a maximum of three matches before the Australian Open begins Monday.
Henin returned to the WTA Tour last February after missing the 2007 Australian Open due to the breakup of her marriage, and won 10 of 14 tournaments. After her semifinal loss to Marion Bartoli at Wimbledon, Henin didn't lose again in 25 matches.
Other top-seeded players also advanced in women's play, with No. 2 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia beating Shahar Peer of Israel 6-3, 6-4 and fourth-seeded Ana Ivanovic of Serbia defeating Virginie Razzano of France 6-1, 2-6, 7-5.
In men's play, Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic upset No. 2 seed Tommy Robredo of Spain 6-4, 6-2 and sixth-seeded Lleyton Hewitt of Australia defeated Nicolas Mahut of France 6-3, 6-4.
