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Henin wary of Sharapova threat in French Open quarters

Updated on: 29 May,2010 07:38 AM IST  | 
AFP |

With this girl, it's never over, says comeback queen Justine Henin ahead of today's Sharapova clash

Henin wary of Sharapova threat in French Open quarters

With this girl, it's never over,u00a0says comeback queenu00a0Justine Henin ahead of today's Sharapova clash


Justine Henin and Maria Sharapova




The players met nine times in Henin's 'first' career, with the little Belgian winning six times, but former world number one Sharapova won their last encounter in the quarter-finals of the 2008 Australian Open.

"It's going to be an interesting match," said Henin, the 22nd seed.

"It comes very early, of course, in the third round, but I expect a big fight as we always had in the past. It's going to be very exciting to play her again in the second career."

Both players are renowned for their battling qualities and although Henin is on the comeback trial and Sharapova has struggled with injuries this year, the Belgian anticipates another high-energy contest today. "I think there's one thing we share, a quality we share, which is that we are winners. We are fighters," said Henin. "With this girl, it's never over. This is something I think that we share. I know it's going be a tough match, but I feel ready for it," she added.

Both players finished off rain-delayed matches yesterday, with Henin defeating Czech Klara Zakopalova 6-3, 6-3 and 12th seed Sharapova beating Henin's compatriot Kirsten Flipkens by the same score.

Henin prevailed in straight sets when she last met the Russian glamour girl on clay, at Roland Garros in 2005, but Sharapova said she has become much more adept on the surface since then. "We've had some battles and I've had some tough losses and some great wins, so I look forward to this one," the Russian said.

Venus zooms ahead
Venus Williams led the charge into the fourth round at the French Open on Friday.

With unbroken sunshine replacing the rain and gloom of the previous two days, second seed Williams was the first woman to reach the last 16 following a 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Slovakian 26th seed Dominika Cibulkova.

The American will face either rising French star Aravane Rezai, the 15th seed, or Russian 19th seed Nadia Petrova for a quarter-final berth.

"Right now I've been doing pretty well; moving well, serving well and playing the closer points well, so that feels good. Also I've been fortunate enough not to get caught up in the rain. I don't really know how that happened," Williams said.

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