Henin-Hardenne wins again on clay

WARSAW, Poland - Justine Henin-Hardenne won her second clay-court title in two weeks, defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 Sunday in the J&S Cup final.

• Photos

The Belgian extended her winning streak to 11 matches in a final in which both players preferred to rally from the baseline and rarely ventured to the net.

"It was a great battle at the end of the match," Henin-Hardenne said. "In the third set we saw a good match, a good fight. Now I have a couple of matches on clay, and that gives me a lot of confidence before the French Open."

Kuznetsova left the court trailing 4-1 in the second set and returned with her left thigh wrapped. The second-seeded Russian said that while the injury slowed her, Henin-Hardenne also raised her game.

"The first set was the best I played in this tournament, just unbelievable," Kuznetsova said. "But at the end of the set I pulled my leg and I wasn't moving so well in the second."

Henin-Hardenne, who also won in Charleston, S.C., on April 17, had lost five of her previous six matches against the 2004 U.S. Open champion.

"I think I can still do better, and that's what I have to be focused on," Henin-Hardenne said. "I have to be aggressive so I don't have long rallies like I did today."

Kuznetsova took a 3-1 lead in the final set but Henin-Hardenne tied it at 4-4. Kuznetsova saved one match point at 5-4, and Henin-Hardenne sealed the victory on the next one.

"In the third set, she got used to my serve and I couldn't change it," the Belgian said. "It became a game of mental strength and a game of experience. I feel disappointed with losing, but I'm happy because I didn't play so well at the start of the season."

Henin-Hardenne, who was unseeded, was playing her third tournament of the year. She was sidelined by a virus and injury following her fourth-round defeat at the U.S. Open. This was her 21st title, increasing her career prize money to more than $8 million with her winner's check of $93,000.