Justine Henin beat Daniela Hantuchova 6-4 7-5 to reach the semi-finals of the Sparkassen Cup - and gain revenge for her US Open defeat.

Hantuchova triumphed over Henin in a three-set thriller when they met in the last 16 at Flushing Meadows earlier this month.

But the Belgian third seed set the record straight in Leipzig, hitting an ace to close out the match.

Hantuchova missed several easy shots at 5-5 in the second set and hit a double fault to surrender the vital break.

"I started playing the match on the first point this time. In New York I started playing too late," said Henin.

Henin will now face world number one Serena Williams, who breezed past Slovakia's Janette Husarova 6-3 6-2.

Williams struggled at times but remained firmly on course to win her sixth tournament in seven attempts.

Unforced errors

"I've just playing a lot, probably more than anybody," she said.

"I think I should have been ahead 5-0 in the second set, but I kept making unforced errors."

Henin added: "Serena's proven many times she's the best in the world, but I believe in myself. I have nothing to lose and everything to win."

Defending champion Kim Clijsters remained on course for a third straight Leipzig title as she needed just 49 minutes to thrash Germany's Barbara Rittner 6-1 6-0.

Clijsters will face Anastasia Myskina in the other semi-final after the Russian beat American Meghann Shaugnessy 6-4 7-5.

Sparkassen Cup quarter-final results