Argentinean world No.37 Gisela Dulko defeated seven-time Grand Slam champion Justine Henin in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, while British qualifier Elena Baltacha upset seventh seed Li Na of China.

The 31st-seeded Dulko broke wildcard Henin’s serve three times in the third set, converting every break point she had, before scoring a 6-2 1-6 6-4 win. When Dulko won the match, after two hours, she fell to her knees as spectators applauded to congratulate her on this amazing victory over Henin, who was a Grand Slam finalist less than two months ago.

The 26-year-old Baltacha achieved her first Top 10 victory by beating tenth-ranked Li Na in the second round. Baltacha’s win came after two hours and 50 minutes, two saved match points, recovery from 5-1 down in the third set tiebreaker and after the Briton "fought her heart out". World No.65 Baltacha's final result was 7-6(6) 2-6 7-6(7).

Dulko’s opponent in the third round will be fifth seed Agnieszka Radwanska, while Baltacha will play wildcard Alicia Molik. (photo: Ralf Reinecke)

World No.1 and top seed Serena Williams won her twelfth Grand Slam and her fifth Australian Open one by ending Justine Henin’s hopes of a comeback title with a 6-4 3-6 6-2 victory in the final.

Serena used to win the Australian Open only on odd-numbered years, but today she ended the tradition and also became the first woman in the Open Era to win it five times.

In addition, Williams leveled Billie Jean King’s record in the number of major titles. The two are now ranked sixths in the list; Margaret Court, Steffi Graf, Helen Wills Moody, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert are ranked better.

Henin was playing only her second tournament after her 18-month retirement and reached the final in both of them. Still, she didn’t manage to match the achievement of fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters who won the 2009 US Open, her first Grand Slam appearance after returning to competition.

"It has been a very emotional two weeks for me. I thought it would never happen again," said the 27-year-old Henin. Later, the seven-time Grand Slam champion assured the audience that she is here to stay: "I'll see you next year."

The former world No.1 Henin,who entered the Australian Open as an unranked wildcard, will remain without a world ranking for one more tournament, but her performance so far convinced us all that the heights of women’s tennis are reserved for her.

As for Serena Williams, what can we say, there is no greater champion in women’s tennis right now. Not only did she win in singles at the 2010 Australian Open, but she won the doubles competition a day earlier (for the fourth time in Melbourne!), and not to mention that she won both singles and doubles last year as well. Serena's taping on right thigh and left knee couldn’t stop her hunger to win and I am certain the American will add more Grand Slam trophies to her already impressive collection. (photos via Yahoo)

Top seed Serena Williams and returning wildcard Justine Henin eliminated their Chinese semifinal opponents to book their first meeting in a Grand Slam final.

World No.1 Serena Williams advanced to her fifth Australian Open final after a tense victory over seed No.16 Li Na. The Chinese showed great resistance to take the defending champion to two tiebreaks, but crumbled in both to lose 7-6(4) 7-6(1).

Unseeded former world No.1 Justine Henin blew Zheng Jie off court in just 51 minutes with a 6-1 6-0 victory in the semifinals. The 35th-ranked Zheng had very good first serve percentage of 81, and the score was that bad. Imagine what would have happened if her serve was worse.

Williams and Henin faced each other for the first time nine years ago. Only four of their encounters were in a WTA final in which they are tied at 2-2, and they are about to have their first one in a major. Williams leads their head-to-head record 7-6. (photos via Australian Open)

Former world number one Justine Henin, playing only her second tournament since coming back to the WTA Tour and her first Grand Slam since the 2008 Australian Open, beat 19th seed Nadia Petrova to reach the semifinals at the Melbourne Park. The Belgian’s opponent in the last four will be second-time Grand Slam semifinalist China’s Zheng Jie, one of the most responsible players for putting China on a tennis map.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion Henin, a wildcard in Melbourne, had to dig deep to beat Nadia Petrova 7-6(3) 7-5. Both players struggled to hold serve, but it was Petrova who made 41 unforced error to Henin’s 26. Nevertheless, Petrova’s 2010 Australian Open run will be remembered, as she took out third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova and 15th seed Kim Clijsters out of the tournament.

Unseeded Zheng Jie advanced by stopping Russia’s Maria Kirilenko 6-1 6-3 in the quarterfinals. Kirilenko had an astounding tournament, but in the match against Zheng she was always a step behind, and the fact that her thigh was heavily strapped didn’t help either. We should note that Kirilenko played singles, doubles and mixed doubles during the tournament, and she’s still alive in the doubles competition, partnered with Agnieszka Radwanska.

The remaining semifinalists will be known after the Serena Williams vs. Victoria Azarenka and Venus Williams vs. Li Na matches are finished. (photos via Australian Open)

Justine Henin’s comeback is in full speed. The Belgian, a wildcard at the 2010 Australian Open, knocked out fifth seed Elena Dementieva 7-5 7-6(6) in the second round.

Currently unranked Henin saved two set points in the first set, broke Dementieva’s serve at 5-5, and then held serve to take the set 7-5. The Russian responded by taking a 2-0 lead in the following set, but Henin leveled. Dementieva was having a lead again later, 4-2, but Henin then won three consecutive games and served for the match. Still, Dementieva leveled at 5-5, and a tiebreaker was played since none of them managed to hold serve. Henin won the tiebreak 8-6 and the match was over in a little less than three hours.

The 27-year-old Henin will play another Russian in her next match, seed No.27 Alisa Kleybanova.

Henin already possesses seven Grand Slam titles, including the 2004 Australian Open, while Dementieva has to wait to get another chance to win her first one. (photo: Getty Images)

Women's Tennis Blog is back from vacation. I spent more than two wonderful weeks in China and now it's time to resume posting. Thank you all for being so supportive and not minding the long break without women's tennis news here.

First of all, I would use this opportunity to once again thank all of you for voting for Women's Tennis Blog in 2009 Baseline Awards, as thanks to you my blog won the in the Best Tennis Blog category.

Secondly, I missed quite a few tennis events and stories during my time off, and I would like to do a little wrap-up of what happened while I was away. The Brisbane International and the ASB Classic are over and here's what happened there.

Brisbane saw an all-Belgian epic final, with Kim Clijsters defeating Justine Henin 6-3 4-6 7-6(6). En route to victory Clijsters saved two match points and wasted three.

Just after the Brisbane final, Henin withdrew from the Sydney International because of the left leg injury sustained in that title match. Henin wanted to make sure she was healthy for the upcoming Australian Open.

The other WTA tournament I skipped to cover was the ASB Classic in Auckland. The titlist at the event was Yanina Wickmayer who defeated top seed Flavia Pennetta 6-3 6-2 in the final. The victory was the best moment of Wickmayer’s career as she entered the Auckland draw after a court overturned a year's ban imposed by the Belgian doping authority.

The most exciting off-court piece of news is that Nike signed an eight-year, $70-million endorsement deal with Maria Sharapova. In addition, the Russian will be getting a percentage of sales from the line she'll help develop. Wow! And by the way, Sharapova beat Venus Williams 6-3 6-4 at an exhibition event in Thailand.

Feel free to mention in the comments some stories that I missed to write about that you find interesting. I would love you to enrich this post by your links and perspective on the past two weeks. (photos via Sony Ericsson WTA Tour)

I am happy to announce that we have the winner of the Wilson racquet with Justine Henin’s autograph: Leo's answer to our question was voted as the best one. Congratulations, Leo!

Twenty-six entrants qualified for winning the prize by completing both the steps requested. I’m very sorry that some of you provided in-depth answers to our question, but forgot to subscribe to Women’s Tennis Blog, and hence didn’t qualify.

Here’s the winning answer to "How will the comeback of Justine Henin change/affect the women's tennis scene in 2010?":

Thanks for having this contest.

The return of Justine Henin in 2010 will surely change the landscape of women's tennis. When she retired in 2008, the leadership of women's tennis is in a limbo. There was no assertive leader of the group. Gone was the time when the world no.1 would assert her supremacy in the game. Nobody question her accomplishments. But since the departure of Justine, a lot of questions were raised in women's tennis. The inconsistencies of Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic and Dinara Safina, the question of motivation of the part of the Williams sisters and the injury problems of Maria Sharapova to name a few. To put it simply, women's tennis lack excitement and intensity.

So what could Justine bring to the table now that she will be back full time in the women's tour? The answer: a lot…..

Here are some things that we can look forward to in 2010:

1. The return of Justine Henin will surely challenge those who are in the top 10. I'm pretty sure, the Williams sisters, Russian Armada and the Serbian ladies will prepare really hard this off-season to stay in shape and polish their game since the true queen of tennis will be back in full force.

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You have just 24 hours left to join our contest and win a Wilson racquet and a case signed by Justine Henin, one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Why miss your chance, it's so simple!

Just subscribe to Women's Tennis Blog via e-mail (of course, it's free), and then leave a comment (giving the same e-mail address) with an answer to the question "How will the comeback of Justine Henin change/affect the women's tennis scene in 2010?".

Please read more detailed instructions on how to enter the contest here. If you still have some questions, just ask me here in the comments or via the contact form.

I'm wishing you all the luck and I hope you have been enjoying the contest!

Marija

Justine Henin won a match in Cairo, Egypt, one more successful exhibition ahead of her eagerly-anticipated comeback in January.

In an exo just about a week ago, Henin had beaten world No.12 Flavia Pennetta, and now her latest victim was world No.20 Nadia Petrova. Final score in the Cairo exhibition event held over the weekend was 7-6 6-2.

Additional info: Serena Williams was defeated by Melanie Oudin 7-5 in an exhibition match in Athens, Georgia. (sources: CCTV, photo: Ralf Reinecke)

I'm so excited to announce a chance for all the readers of Women's Tennis Blog to win a Wilson racquet and a case signed by none other than former world No.1 and seven-time Grand Slam champion Justine Henin - a perfect introduction to the Belgian's return to professional tennis in January 2010. This valuable prize was kindly provided for us by Kevin, our great cooperator from the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.

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2) Comment below this announcement of the contest by answering the question: How will the comeback of Justine Henin change/affect the women's tennis scene in 2010?

As always when leaving a comment, you will have to fill the box with your name, email (visible only by me) and website (optional). To qualify for the competition, you should use the same email address as the one you used for your subscription, i.e. for Step 1. Read more »