Belgium in bloom as Henin wakes up to defeat Ivanovic

PERTH - Justine Henin woke up after a slow start against Ana Ivanovic to put Belgium in a 1-0 lead of their concluding Group A match with Serbia through a stirring 6-4, 6-3 victory Thursday at the Hopman Cup.

“It was a tough start, I was low on energy and was a bit sleeping at the start,” said Henin. “She put on a lot of pressure at the beginning. But I came to the court determined to take every opportunity.

“Return was key to the match. I tried to avoid her big forehand and it worked well today.”

Serbia now battles to keep an unblemished 2-0 record in the eight-nation mixed team competition, with Novak Djokovic to face Ruben Bemelmans in a must-win match. Mixed doubles could decide the tie at Perth’s Burswood Dome.

The day’s double-header also featured hosts Australia playing Kazakhstan, with one of them to be eliminated from the fight for a spot in Saturday’s final.

Aussie stalwart Lleyton Hewitt did his part for national pride with a win over Andrey Golubev, 6-3, 6-3, while teammate Alicia Molik was aiming for her first victory of the week as she played Sesil Karatantcheva.

Hewitt, back from a September injury and fighting fit as he enters his 15th professional season, was pleased with the 65-minute effort over Golubev.

“My ball-striking has stepped up, I had some good tactics and executed well,” said the 29-year-old double Grand Slam winner. “I needed to weather a storm, but didn’t let him put me on the defensive.”

“On balance, it was a good match for me, I was aggressive when I needed to. I hit the spots well and used my opportunities,” he said. “After being gone for some time I feel pretty god about this win.”

“I’m pretty happy with my form.”

Australia have only won the home title once, in 1999.

Henin, like Hewitt, is on a comeback mission after reversing her retirement a year ago and then not playing since Wimbledon in June due to an elbow injury.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion with 43 career singles titles stepped up to claim her sixth win without a loss against Ivanovic, the 2008 French Open finalist.

The Serb drew first blood with a break but was soon pegged by by the 28-year-old Belgian as Henin slowly took charge of the encounter.

Henin said that her competitive spirit was back. “It was an amazing feeling on court, I had fighting spirit and good attitude. I wanted to win this match. Belgium is still alive and still going.”