Justine Henin and Serena Williams made comfortable starts with straight-sets wins in round two of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. Top-seeded Henin beat Germany’s Angelique Kerber 6-4 6-2, while eighth-seeded Williams defeated Romania’s Edina Gallovits 6-1 6-2.

Today's match in Miami was Henin’s first since the end of February when she was upset by Francesca Schiavone in Dubai quarterfinals, the tournament Henin had never been defeated at before. Henin made the one-month break in order to rest her knee and train properly. (photo via Getty Images)

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World’s highest-ranked WTA player Justine Henin and her long-time coach Carlos Rodriguez have just opened a branch of their European tennis academy, called the Sixth Sense, at the Mission Inn Resort and Club in Orlando, Florida. It’s disappointing, but not surprising though, that Henin will spend very little time there, as her career is still a priority.

"How often I am going to be there is hard to say because my main concern is my career now," said Henin.

"It's really important I keep the emphasis on my tennis the next few years, but when I'm going to be in the States between tournaments for example, or before Miami, then I will be there." (source: Reuters, image via Sixth Sense)

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World No.1 Justine Henin said her inflamed right knee had been so painful that she considered surgery after the Australian Open.

However, she opted for a cortisone injection. Also, the seven times Grand Slam champion took some time off to rest her knee and train properly. Now we know why she missed the last week's Pacific Life Open at Indian Wells.

"It's been a chronic problem and it's doing much better," said Henin at the Sony Ericsson Open. "It's already two months after the injection and my knee is really good.

"That was my main concern the last two months and it's going really well, so I'm really happy."

"In Australia, I didn't really have the time to rest and my knee was bothering me and I was thinking about surgery," she added. (source: Reuters)

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World No.1 Justine Henin and her long-time coach Carlos Rodriguez will soon open their Sixth Sense Tennis Academy in Florida, an addition to the already existent facilities in Belgium.

A few days before the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Justine and Carlos made a stop in Orlando, where they will base their new academy. More precisely, the Sixth Sense will be located at Mission Inn Resort and Club in Howey-In-The-Hills.

Justine and Carlos, together with their well-rounded team, are planning to give their knowledge and experience, as well as high-quality service, to all level players. In order for all the players to benefit from the academy, training has been structured in several programs. One of the programs is the mini-tennis, which will allow young tennis players to develop through the teaching methods that have given Justine her technical and tactical qualities. (source: Justine Henin’s website)

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Top seed Justine Henin suffered a straight-set loss to unseeded Italian Francesca Schiavone in the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships quarterfinals. Both sets were decided in tiebreaks and the final result was 7-6 (3) 7-6 (4).

This loss must be especially hard for world No.1 Henin as she has never been defeated at the Dubai tournament, and already has four Dubai titles (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007; she didn't play in 2005 because of an injury). World No.24 Schiavone ended the Belgian’s impressive17-match winning streak at Dubai.

Schiavone was powerful and determined and although she didn't manage to close out the match on her first match point at 5-4 in the second set, she stayed strong and finished it in the tiebreak. The 27-year-old Italian definitely earned this victory.

"To beat Justine you have to play very good, at a high level, and I did today. I think for me it is my best win," said Schiavone. "Maybe she missed some balls, but personally I think I didn't give the possibility and the chance to come up and come up like she does every time."

Schiavone was 0-7 lifetime against Henin prior to this quarterfinal. (photo via Yahoo)

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