Champion Serena crushes Henin

Champion Serena Williams [Images] made world number one Justine Henin [Images] look like a mere novice as she pulled off a stunning 6-2, 6-0 victory to reach the semi-finals of the Sony Ericsson Open on Tuesday.

Williams barely put a foot wrong and reeled off the last nine games to book a last-four date with either her sister Venus or third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Serena, who is looking particularly fit at this tournament, joked about the last time she was in such good shape.

"I'm definitely way more fit than last year even at this tournament. I feel I'm moving better."

Henin struggled with her second serve throughout the 79-minute contest and surrendered the match with a double fault.

"She just has been better every part of the game and I didn't do enough to win and she has been consistent," said the Belgian.

"I didn't serve well enough, I didn't take my opportunities enough and I felt she was on every ball."

Tuesday's victory also allowed Serena to avenge her three grand slam defeats by Henin last year.

The Belgian had beaten eighth-ranked Serena in the quarter-finals of the French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open in 2007.

A grumpy Serena had proved to be a sore loser at Flushing Meadows, claming Henin had "made a lot of lucky shots" to win the contest. Almost seven months on from that day, the American could not stop smiling.

"Everything worked well for me," grinned Serena, who had also beaten Henin in the Miami [Images] final last year.

"I'm feeling better and I've keeping working hard. Being aggressive and not being 12 feet behind the baseline works."

Henin looked flat-footed as she faced a barrage of shot-making and powerful serving from Serena.

The seven-times grand slam champion also aided Serena by producing 32 errors in the match.

Realising that Henin could do little to change her own fortunes, Serena employed an attacking game plan and won 12 of 16 points at the net.

"She did a good job," Henin said. "She's very aggressive attacking the ball, and I think she did what she had to do and I didn't do what I had to do, so that makes a big difference at the end."

© Copyright 2008 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.