Molik drops out Qatar Open
8:46 AM March 1
Top seeded Justine Henin advanced to the quarter-finals of the WTA Qatar Open overnight with a 6-2, 7-6 (11-9) win over Australia's Alicia Molik.
Number two seed Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova also moved into the last eight stage of the event, beating Germany's Julia Goerges 7-5, 6-1, while Swiss Patty Schnyder ousted Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-3, 6-4.
Henin, bidding for back-to-back titles in the Gulf after her win in Dubai last week, overcame a period of uncertainty in the second set to beat Molik for the fifth consecutive time.
In five meetings between them, Molik has taken just one set off Henin and that came at Miami in 2005.
The Australian held two set points in the second set tie-break but couldn't prevent the world number two from clawing back and clinching the match, equalling at 8-8 and then again at 9-9.
Molik made crucial errors on her serve when she put the ball into the net to give the Belgian a 10-9 advantage and Henin exploited a weak approach for a passing shot to win the match and set up a quarter-final clash with Schnyder.
Henin said the windy condition on the court affected her play.
"It's not easy to play good tennis when the wind is blowing so hard. You can't be sure where the ball is going," said the Belgian, who also had words of praise for Molik.
"It's always tough against a player like her and she has done well to come back so strongly after her health problems. It's great to see her back at this level. She is also a nice person."
Henin predicted a tough match against Schnyder in the next round.
"Patty has given me a lot of trouble in the past. We have had several three set matches and she even beat me last year (at Charleston). She being a lefty [left-handed] also makes things a bit different."
Henin has won six of their seven matches, with four of them going into the third set.
-AFP Source: AFP
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