Players Under the Microscope / Editor / 30 March 2007 /

Final pair predicting tough battle

Justine Henin booked a place in the Sony Ericsson Open final in Miami against Serena Williams, after cruising past Anna Chakvetadze in the last four.

The world number one overcame a poor first-serve percentage of just 43 per cent to make short work of her Russian opponent, breaking the ninth seed five times to win 6-2 6-3 in an hour and 11 minutes.

Henin, who is chasing a third consecutive title after winning in Dubai and Doha, admitted that her semi-final clash had not been as tough as she had feared.

"It was an easier match than I was expecting," said Henin. "I was just happy to do my job, it was very clean. I had a solution to every ball she was hitting."

The Belgian now takes on the Australian Open champion in the final, their first clash since a comfortable Wimbledon semi-final win for the American in 2003, and Henin is anticipating a tough battle.

Henin, who trails Williams 5-3 in head-to-heads, said: "It's a long time since we played each other. She looks like she's healthy now and very focused on tennis.

"We had a couple of good fights in the past. I know she has a lot of motivation but I also have a lot of motivation and the best will win."

Williams has been in imperious form in her first event since winning the opening Grand Slam of the year in Melbourne in January, and overcame Shahar Peer 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 to make it through to the final without dropping a set.

The 13th seed admitted that it took a while for her to get going against the Israeli and is now expecting a tense battle with the world number one.

"I started out really slow," Williams said. "I think I was a little nervous and then I just finished well.

"Justine has been playing some of the best tennis on the tour. She's doing awesome. This will be a real test of my game."

Although both players are in good form this year, punters appear to believe that Williams will be too strong for her Belgian opponent and the three-time winner in Miami is the 1.68 favourite, while Henin is available at 2.4.

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