Henin vs Serena in 2010 Australian Open Final

Former world #1 and seven time grand slam champion Justine Henin totally dominated unseeded Chinese Zheng Jie to book her spot in the 2010 Australian Open women's singles final. Henin set-up a blockbuster final against world #1 Serena Williams, and she'll be going into the match fresher having spent less than an hour to eliminate the world #35 Zheng. The Chinese player held her first service game and never won another as Henin won the next 12 games to score an impressive 61 60 victory. With the win, Henin advances to her third Australian Open final, her first since she lost to Amelie Mauresmo in 2006.

Henin had 5 aces against 3 double faults. She had 23 winners and 14 unforced errors while her Chinese rival had only 3 winners and 15 unforced errors. Henin won more than twice the number of points her opponent won, 54-24, and closed out the match after 51 minutes. It was a quick and relaxing workout for the Belgian on just her second tournament since she retired in May 2008.

Henin has now set-up the first Grand Slam final between her and Serena. The American holds a 7-6 advantage in their career head-to-head series although it was Henin who won their last three Grand Slam meetings, all in 2007. This was the year that Henin won both the French Open and the US Open without dropping a single set and was set to dominate women's tennis for years to come. That didn't happen though. Henin lost to Sharapova in the 2008 Australian Open and suffered her worst loss to Serena Williams in Miami, a drubbing where she only won two games in a 6-2, 6-0 quarterfinal loss. She later announced her retirement from the game on May 2007 - 11 days before she was set to defend her French Open title.

It will be an interesting championship for the greatest achievers in women's tennis in the past 10 years. Serena will be seeking her 12th grand slam title, while Henin is going for her 8th. Serena had more success in this tournament, winning four times, while Henin had a controversial withdrawal when she retired while trailing a set and 0-3 against Amelie Mauresmo in the 2006 final. The Belgian will be seeking to erase any negative memories if she does win her second Australian Open title.

The key to the match will depend on which Serena Williams will show up in the championship final. The match will be over quickly in favor of the defending champion if she shows up with her fourth round form where she was blasting aces into all corners of the service box. However, it could get to a third setter if Serena comes out playing like she did in the semifinals, or in the first set of her quarterfinals. Justine will be displaying her new net game but if both players will be at their peak form as they displayed in the tournament (a very BIG IF), it would be hard to bet against the American. Either way, expect a very exciting championship match as the two best competitors in the women's game will be fighting for the first Grand Slam championship of the decade.

Below is the head-to-head series of the two players. Serena leads 7-6, but hasn't beaten Henin in a grand slam since the 2003 Wimbledon semifinal.

RANK (SEED)YEAR EVENT SURFACE ROUND WINNER SCORE RANK (SEED)

10 (10) 2001 US OPEN HARD R16 S.WILLIAMS 7-5 6-0 6 (6)
10 (7) 2001 SANEX CHAMPIONSHIPS HARD Q S.WILLIAMS 6-3 7-6(5) 6 (4)
5 (4) 2002 BERLIN OPEN CLAY F J. HENIN 6-2 1-6 7-6(5) 8 (5)
4 (4) 2002 ROME CLAY F S.WILLIAMS 7-6(6) 6-4 8 (5)
1 (1) 2002 LEIPZIG CARPET S S.WILLIAMS 6-4 6-2 7 (3)
1 (1) 2003 CHARLESTON CLAY F J. HENIN 6-3 6-4 4 (2)
1 (1) 2003 FRENCH OPEN CLAY S J. HENIN 6-2 4-6 7-5 4 (4)
1 (1) 2003 WIMBLEDON GRASS S S.WILLIAMS 6-3 6-2 3 (3)
18 (13) 2007 MIAMI HARD F S.WILLIAMS 0-6 7-5 6-3 1 (2)
8 (8) 2007 FRENCH OPEN CLAY Q J. HENIN 6-4 6-3 1 (1)
8 (7) 2007 WIMBLEDON GRASS Q J. HENIN 6-4 3-6 6-3 1 (1)
9 (8) 2007 US OPEN HARD Q J. HENIN 7-6(3) 6-1 1 (1)
8 (8) 2008 MIAMI HARD Q S.WILLIAMS 6-2 6-0 1 (1)