AUSTRALIAN OPEN
Venue: Melbourne Park Date: 18-31 January
BBC coverage: Every Murray match live on BBC 1 or 2
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Henin is playing only the second tournament of he comeback

Former world number one Justine Henin kept her Australian Open dream alive with a scrappy win over 19th seed Nadia Petrova in the quarter-finals.

Henin is a wildcard in Melbourne as she is playing only her second tournament since coming out of retirement.

And she had to dig deep to beat Petrova 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 and reach the last four.

The Belgian, 27, goes on to face Jie Zheng of China, who beat Russia's Maria Kirilenko 6-1 6-3 in the second of the day's women's quarter-finals.

Henin is playing only her second tournament after returning from an 18-month retirement, but had already beaten Petrova in her first match back in Sydney earlier this month.

It's just a great feeling to be in the semis of the first Grand Slam since I'm back Justine Henin

The Russian looked like being a tougher prospect in Melbourne though, having beaten Kim Clijsters and Svetlana Kuznetsova in the previous rounds.

In fact, neither player came anywhere near their best level, with Petrova's serve the main reason behind her dropping four straight games to lose the opening set.

The 19th seed did move 3-0 clear with a double-break in the second as Henin's forehand broke down, but the seven-time Grand Slam champion recovered to take it to 6-5 before a Petrova backhand sailed long on match point.

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"I'm here again in the last four," said Henin, who last played a Grand Slam at the 2008 Australian Open. "It's just much more than what I could expect and the dream continues.

"But there's still a long way to go. I'll just try to be focused on what I have to do on the court and hope it keeps going this way.

"I'll have good recovery and two good nights. That's what I need. But it's just a great feeling to be in the semis of the first Grand Slam since I'm back."

Zheng is into the semi-finals of a Grand Slam for the second time, following her efforts at Wimbledon in 2008, and she was always in control against Kirilenko, who was troubled by a leg injury throughout.

"Graf is my favourite player, number one," Zheng said. "Justine is number three. I admire her because she is so strong mentally. I enjoy watching her play.

"I think it is a tough match for me, a big challenge, but I like it."

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