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Henin-Hardenne hoping for showdown
ZURICH, Switzerland -- Justine Henin-Hardenne kept on track to become world number one this week when she beat Israel's Anna Pistolesi 6-1 7-6 to reach the quarterfinals of the Swiss WTA tournament. The second-seed Belgian must win the title on Sunday to replace Kim Clijsters at the top -- and there is every chance she will face her compatriot in the final. Fourth seed Elena Dementieva lost 7-6 6-3 to fellow Russian and French Open semifinalist Nadia Petrova. Dementieva, who like several players has been suffering from a cold and sore throat, looked tired and lacked the sharpness she has shown over recent weeks as she won titles in Bali and Shanghai and reached the semis in Moscow. Another Russian, seventh seed Vera Zvonareva, eased past American Amy Frazier 6-3 7-5 and is next in line for Henin-Hardenne who won her match 7-5 on the tiebreak after Pistolesi failed to serve out for the second set when leading 6-5. Jelena Dokic claimed a welcome victory by outlasting American Alexandra Stevenson 4-6 7-5 6-1 -- only the fifth time in 29 tournaments this year that the Yugoslav has won more than one match at an event. Her ranking has slumped from eight at the beginning of the year to 25 this week. And she said of her victory: "I'm happy with that...it's coming together a little bit, and mentally I'm fighting and motivated to win. My concentration was much better than it has been all year. " Dokic will shortly make a decision on whether to play at the Australian Open next January. She has not played at the year's first Grand Slam since 2001 when her controversial father, Damir, criticised Tennis Australia for lack of support and moved the family back to Europe. "I'll make up my mind in the next few weeks. I would love to go back and play, and it's 50-50 at the moment. It's been a long season and it depends how I feel, and I want to cut (the number of) my tournaments down to around 20 or 22 next year," she said.
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