Justine Henin advanced to the semifinals of the Australian Open after the former world number one dispatched Nadia Petrova of Russia 76 75 in a tight quarterfinal match.

The Belgian returned from a 20-month long retirement and has produced great results since her comeback. She finished runner up at a warmup tournament. The Australian Open is her second event since her comeback.

The match seemed headed to a third set showdown when Petrova led 3-0 in the second set. However, Henin regrouped and won the seven of the next nine games.

Petrova has beaten US Open 2009 champion Kim Clijsters and 2009 French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova on her way to the quarterfinals.

High quality tennis is expected to take place tonight as fifth-seeded Elena Dementieva faces returning former world number one Justine Henin in the second round of competitions in this year’s Australian Open. Dementieva easily ousted compatriot Vera Dushevina 62 61 on Monday.

Henin, a seven-time Grand Slam winner, returned to competitive tennis two weeks ago via the Brisbane International where she finished runner up to compatriot Kim Clijsters. On Monday, she outplayed fellow Belgian Kirsten Flipkens 64 63.

Despite the contrasts in their current rankings with Dementieva being the world number five while Henin currently unranked, the former is not going to take this match lightly.

“I think it’s going to be a tough challenge because Justine, she’s a very experienced player,” Dementieva said.

“I’m sure she was getting ready for this comeback. So I’m just expecting a tough match against her,” she added.

Elena Dementieva of Russia successfully defended the Sydney International title after she defeated top-seed Serena Williams 63 62 at the Olympic tennis center on Friday.

Williams had problems with her left knee during the match but the American world number one said that the injury was not serious and that she can still compete at her best level at the Australian Open, which begins on Monday.

“It’s Just a little pain and the strapping usually helps the pain go away sometimes,” Williams said.

“I haven’t played for two months on a competitive level, so I think it’s good for my body to go through this now, especially since I’m in doubles as well as singles. I think it’s a great blessing in a way. I played four matches and my body hasn’t been used to it. Now we’re ready and ready to go,” she added.

World number one Serena Williams was in a brink of defeat before battling back to beat Frenchwoman Aravane Rezai 36 75 64 to reach the Sydney International final. She will face a familiar opponent, Russia’s Elena Dementieva, for the title.

The top ranked player lost the first set and was 5-2 down in the second before finding her rhythm and won the next five games to set up a third set encounter.

“Was I down that far? I didn’t even realize. I felt like I literally lifted my game at that point, because I knew I was going to be headed to Melbourne if I didn’t,” Williams said.

“I kept thinking, I want to get a little more practice, and I’d hate for it to end now,” she added.

Dementieva, the 2008 Beijing Olympics champion, had an easier time defeating Belarussian sixth seed Victoria Azarenka 63 61.

“I expect a tough match. She’s a great champion. I just hope it’s going to be a good match for both of us, and good preparation for the Open,” she said of Williams.

Australian Open 2010 begins on Monday, January 18.

Russian world number four Elena Dementieva and American Sam Querrey clinched the 2009 Olympus US Open Series women’s and men’s titles respectively after both players accumulated enough points based on their spectacular performances for the past few weeks.

Dementieva will now attempt to duplicate the feat of Belgian former world number one Kim Clijsters in 2005 where the latter both won the US Open Series and the US Open title which created a record $2.2 paycheck, still the biggest single paycheck in women’s sports history.

Their impressive finishes for the past few weeks propelled Andy Murray of Great Britain and Elena Dementieva of Russia to clinch the top spots in men’s and women’s fields respectively after the fifth week of the US Open Series rankings.  With only the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament remaining, there’s a big possibility that these two players will emerge as winners after the sixth and final week. The winners will compete for the $1 million bonus prize money at next week’s US Open.

Russian Elena Dementieva suddenly became a strong contender in the upcoming U.S. Open after she won the prestigious Rogers Cup title last Sunday, beating compatriot Maria Sharapova 6-4, 6-3. The title win also propelled the Russian atop the US Open Series rankings.

This served as the first time for an all-Russian final in the tournament’s history. Dementieva stormed into the finals after defeating no. 2 Serena Williams, a sweet revenge after the former lost their previous encounter at the Wimbledon semifinals last month.

World number one Dinara Safina proved that she’s the most consistent player in the women’s tour right now after reaching the final of the Cincinnati Open on Saturday. The Russian defeated Flavia Pennetta of Italy 6-2, 6-0 in the semifinals.This is Safina’s eighth final out of 14 tournaments she joined this season.

“Every match I feel better. Today, stepping on the court, I was feeling very good and confident. I was feeling very good stepping in,” Safina said after the match.

For free, live Wimbledon 2009 online video coverage, click HERE.

Elena Dementieva interview transcript, Wimbledon 2009 on July 2, 2009 following her semifinal loss to second seed Serena Williams of United States  7-6, 5-7, 6-8. The Russian also lost in the semifinals last year to defending champion Venus Williams.

Q. Is it a match you thought on merit you should have won?

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Well, I think it was a very close match, and I think we both were playing very well today. It was a good fight.

For free, live Wimbledon 2009 online video coverage, click HERE.

Elena Dementieva interview transcript, Wimbledon 2009 on June 30, 2009 following her quarterfinal victory over Francesca Schiavone of Italy 6-2, 6-2. The world number four is slated to meet world number two Serena Williams of United States in the semifinals.

Q. Second semifinal in a row. Probably you will play Serena. To go one round further than last year, which areas do you feel you need to be concentrating on?

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Well, I think it’s a completely different situation. For sure, it was a great experience being in the semis last year. But this time I’m going to play a different player and it’s gonna be all new.

For free, live Wimbledon 2009 online video coverage, click HERE.

Elena Dementieva interview transcript, Wimbledon 2009 on June 29, 2009 following her fourth round victory over Russian compatriot Elena Vesnina 6-1, 6-3. The world number four is slated to meet Francesca Schiavone of Italy in the quarterfinals.

Q. Did you expect a tougher game today than that?

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Well, I expected a tough match because we were playing at the beginning of the year in New Zealand and it was a tough match in the final. So I think she really improved a lot, you know, since last year.