Wimbledon Championships
Venue: All England Club, London Date: 21 June - 4 July
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Clijsters bounces back in Belgian battle

By Caroline Cheese BBC Sport at Wimbledon

Kim Clijsters fought back from a set down to beat fellow Belgian Justine Henin in a scrappy fourth-round match.

Eighth seed Clijsters will meet Vera Zvonareva in Tuesday's quarter-finals after a 2-6 6-2 6-3 win.

The 28-year-old committed a host of errors in the first set, which the more aggressive Henin took in 29 minutes.

But Henin, who fell and hurt her arm in the first set, faltered and dropped serve crucially in the eighth game of the decider as Clijsters came through.

"She came out of the blocks really fast, really dominating. I felt a little bit overwhelmed," Clijsters told BBC Sport.

"It was up to me to stay in the points and serve better. That's how I made the turnaround, a few longer rallies."

Both Belgians were competing at Wimbledon for the first time since coming out of retirement.

Clijsters returned midway through last season and won a Grand Slam title at the first attempt at the US Open, while Henin came back in January and reached the Australian Open final in her second tournament back.

Given that their head-to-head record stood at 12-12 and their two meetings this year had both been decided by third-set tie-breaks, their encounter on Court One was among the most keenly anticipated of Wimbledon's famous fourth-round day.

Clijsters prevailed in Brisbane and Miami this year, but her prospects of a hat-trick looked bleak when she lost the first set amid a deluge of errors.

Henin's only moment of concern came when, leading 2-0, she slipped as she tried to change direction and fell awkwardly on her arm.

The 28-year-old took a medical time-out for treatment, but emerged to break for a second time on her way to winning a 29-minute set.

Henin again had treatment on her elbow between sets, and later said it had bothered her during the match.

606: DEBATE Can Clijsters go on to win the women's singles title?

"It's a little worse after than it was during the match," she said. "I thought it was the tendon but we're not quite sure. It's quite painful on my serve and my backhand a little bit.

She added: "Kim made a lot of mistakes first set and I was really into it. But she started to be more intense in the second and after that I wasn't able to come more into the court, be in control of the rallies."

Clijsters managed a first-serve percentage of just 53 and committed 13 errors in the first set, but crucially improved those figures to 62 and six in the second.

After a difficult opening service game, Clijsters grew into the match, her forehand finally beginning to find its mark.

Henin, on the other hand, wilted, and the crowd, desperate for a classic encounter, struggled to get into the match.

But Henin could not rise to the challenge, three badly-timed errors giving Clijsters a crucial break in the eighth game of the decider.

As Clijsters served for the match, Henin rifled a backhand at her rival's feet to earn a 15-30 lead, and the crowd sensed another potential shift in momentum.

It was not to be though and Clijsters closed out the next three points with relative ease.

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