Henin ousts Peer 6-3, 6-2 in Stuttgart semi to reach 3rd final in 5 events since return

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Henin ousts Peer to gain final in Stuttgart

STUTTGART, Germany — Justine Henin beat Shahar Peer of Israel 6-3, 6-2 at the Porsche Grand Prix on Saturday, advancing to her third final in five tournaments since coming out of retirement in January.

Peer got no presents on her 23rd birthday from the former world No. 1, who is looking for her first title of the year.

“I made mistakes but I was good enough today,” Henin said. “I just have to keep going and to be aggressive. When I am aggressive my game is so much better.”

Henin will play in the final against Samantha Stosur of Australia, who defeated qualifier Anna Lapushchenkova 7-5, 6-3 in the Russian’s first WTA Tour-level tournament.

Henin was the runner-up in Brisbane and at the Australian Open in January, her first two tournaments after returning from 18 months in retirement. The Belgian won the Stuttgart event in 2007 and was a finalist in 2001 and 2003. She was a wild-card entry this year.

“It’s great to be playing good tennis here and to be in the final again. I hope it continues so,” said Henin, who is playing with a splint on her broken left pinkie.

She had a scary moment on her first match point, when she took a wrong step on the red clay and fell while trying to reach a shot. Peer’s ball hit the line, but on her next match point, Henin fired a backhand return winner down the line.

She finished with 28 winners, twice as many as Peer.

Henin has four French Open titles among her seven major championships and began her preparation for the clay season in Stuttgart.

“I hope to win my first title, it would be fantastic. I hope that the clay helps,” Henin said.