Henin rallies to continue comeback; Safina advances to 4th round of Australian Open

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Henin, Safina advance at Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Australia — Justine Henin staged another memorable comeback Friday to advance in her first Grand Slam out of retirement, beating No. 27 Alisa Kleybanova 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the third round of the Australian Open.

Facing two break points at 1-3 in the second set, it seemed as if Henin’s dramatic win over Olympic gold medalist and fifth-ranked Elena Dementieva on Wednesday had sapped too much energy. After all, that was only the seventh match for the seven-time Grand Slam winner since she returned from 20 months off the tour.

However, Henin managed to hold that game, hitting the lines with her groundstrokes instead of just missing them, and in the next game converted her first break-point chance against Kleybanova. As soon Henin found her range, the match was as good as over.

“I kind of survived a little bit today,” Henin said. “It’s always good to win this kind of match because I came back from nowhere.

“Physically I suffered a little bit in the last two days, but finally I did it. I’m very happy that I have another chance to get better in the next round.”

U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro had a 6-3, 0-6, 6-4, 7-5 win over Florian Mayer, then crossed himself, kissed his finger and reached for the sky.

“The crowd helped me a lot to give fight. I wanted to be alive a few more days here in Melbourne,” said the 21-year-old Argentine, who is a reigning major champion for the first time.

Del Potro lost to Roger Federer in the quarterfinals here last year, but then beat the 15-time Grand Slam winner in the U.S. Open final in September.

Asked if he felt any different this time around, del Potro laughed, held open his arms and said: “I feel bigger!”

“My life hasn’t changed too much,” he said. “Of course, it’s beautiful, you get up, see the trophy of the U.S. Open. But you want more.”

If he wins in the fourth round, he could meet former No. 1-ranked Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals.

The seventh-seeded Roddick, whose best shot at a second major to go with his 2003 U.S. Open title ended in a five-set loss to Federer in last year’s Wimbledon final, was challenged all the way in a 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (3) win over Feliciano Lopez.

The American next will play 2007 runner-up Fernando Gonzalez of Chile, who was backed by a noisy Chilean contingent in stifling conditions on Showcourt 2 as he beat Kazakhstan’s Evgeny Korolev 6-7 (5), 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Britain’s Andy Murray had a 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 win over Florent Serra of France and will next face American John Isner, who fired 26 aces and hit 73 winners in a 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) victory over No. 12 Gael Monfils of France.

On paper, it was an upset, although 24-year-old Isner — who was given the last seeding for the tournament after Frenchman Gilles Simon withdrew — went into the match 2-1 against Monfils.

The winner of the Murray-Isner match is likely to face defending champion Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals. Nadal had a night match Friday against Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany.

Roddick broke Lopez in the third game of the second set and the ninth of the third set, serving out at love both times.

“The only thing that matters, you’re just trying to get through, and that happened,” Roddick said. “So no complaints.”

Henin, unranked and playing on a wild-card entry, had a momentary lapse in the deciding set when Kleybanova broke her serve, but otherwise dominated the last 10 games.

Only two nights earlier, Henin had to save set points to finish off Dementieva in a tiebreaker, drawing on the experience of losing in similar circumstances to Kim Clijsters after holding match points in the Brisbane International final on Jan. 9.

That was Henin’s first tournament since she quit while holding the No. 1 ranking in May 2008. In what is shaping as the Belgian quarter, Henin now must beat Yanina Wickmayer to have a chance at a quarterfinal against Clijsters.

Wickmayer, who is ranked No. 16 but unseeded because she was under a suspension — since overturned — for breaching the World Anti-Doping Agency’s “whereabouts rule” when direct entries closed for the Australian Open — advanced 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-3 over Sara Errani. She needed painkillers for back pain against Errani and said she’d need treatment before facing Henin.

Second-seeded Dinara Safina had a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Britain’s Elena Baltacha in her first match on Rod Laver Arena since her lopsided loss to Serena Williams in last year’s final.

Safina, a three-time Grand Slam finalist, faces a fourth-round match against fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko, who beat Italian Roberta Vinci 7-5, 7-6 (4). Kirilenko ousted 2008 champion Maria Sharapova in the opening round.

“I think Sharapova hits it harder than Safina, so I am prepared for sure,” Kirilenko said.

Former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic was upset 6-2, 6-3 by No. 31 Alona Bondarenko, while China’s Zheng Jie upset 2007 Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli of France 5-7, 6-3, 6-0.

Clijsters, who inspired Henin’s return to the tour by winning the U.S. Open last September in her third tournament back from retirement, was playing Nadia Petrova in a night match.