Henin cruises into semifinal against Ivanovic at Brisbane

Henin cruises into semifinal against Ivanovic at Brisbane

Belgium's Justine Henin reacts during her match against Hungary's Melinda Czink at the Brisbane International tennis tournament January 7, 2010.

CANBERRA, Jan. 7 -- Former No. 1 Justine Henin has edged Melinda Czink in a challenging three-set match on Thursday, to reach the semifinals against third-seeded Ana Ivanovic at the Brisbane International tennis tournament.

Henin beat the seventh-seeded Czink 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (5) in a quarterfinal lasting 2 hours and 21 minutes.

This is Henin's first official tournament in her comeback. She retired in May 2008 when she held the No. 1 ranking, and is playing in Brisbane and Sydney on wild card entries ahead of the Australian Open, which starts on Jan. 18.

The 22-year-old Ivanovic held her nerve in her quarterfinal with promising Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to win 6-2 and 7-6(6) on Thursday.

Belgium's Justine Henin hits a backhand against Hungary's Melinda Czink during their match at the Brisbane International tennis tournament January 7, 2010.
(Reuters)