Top seed Henin beats Serena Williams to reach semis

By Simon Cambers

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Top seed Justine Henin beat two-time champion Serena Williams 7-6 6-1 in a much-anticipated battle under the lights on Tuesday to reach the semi-finals of the U.S. Open.

Williams had a set point at 6-5 but Henin won the first set on a tiebreak and then ripped through the second to set up a clash with either third seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia or American 12th seed Venus Williams.

"I played a very good tiebreak," Henin told the crowd.

"I am very happy about my second set, I took all my opportunities, I returned better and am very happy tonight. I hope I can just keep going."

In what was the third consecutive grand-slam quarter-final between the two, world number one Henin broke in the first game but was broken when serving for the first set at 5-4.

Williams, who came into the U.S. Open having not played since Wimbledon because of a thumb injury, then forced a set point on the Belgian's serve at 6-5.

But Henin held on and stormed through the tiebreak 7-3 before taking a 3-0 lead in the second set.

Williams forced two break points in the fifth game but Henin saved them and then romped through the final two games to record an impressive victory.