Former world No.1 Justine Henin returned to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour in January and today at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart she won her first comeback title, having finished runner-up at Brisbane and Australian Open. The Belgian’s opponent in today's final was Australian Samantha Stosur, whom she was playing for the first time.

The 26-year-old Stosur entered the Stuttgart final on an 11-match winning streak on clay, but it was not rocket science that her first meeting with four-time French Open champion Henin would be a real challenge. Henin, a wildcard now projected to return to the Top 20, didn’t need more than one break point to take her opponent’s service game and then the first set. In the following set, the Australian seventh seed, a wildcard as a late entrant, held serve throughout and broke Henin two times to win 6-2. In the decider, Henin was strong on her serve and allowed Stosur to win only one game. Final score: 6-4 2-6 6-1.

Henin won her 42th WTA singles title and her second at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. Prize for the winner was $107,000 and a Porsche sports car, while the runner-up took home $56,000. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Seven-time Grand Slam champion Justine Henin will have a chance to win her first title since coming out of retirement, having reached the final at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix on her beloved clay. It will be the Belgian’s 60 Tour final and her opponent will be fellow wildcard Samantha Stosur.

The former world No.1 Henin didn’t have a birthday present for Shahar Peer and defeated the Israeli 6-3 6-2 in the semifinals. Even lack of sleep and cold couldn’t stop Henin, who is currently ranked four places lower than Peer.

Australia’s Samantha Stosur reached her eighth final on the WTA Tour with a 7-5 6-3 victory over 138th-ranked qualifier Anna Lapushchenkova. Stosur had to come from 5-2 behind to take the first set. By the way, if you’re interested in reading more about Lapushchenkova, I suggest a short but very informative article at Diane’s blog about women’s tennis.

Although Stosur is in excellent form, having confirmed that with the Charleston title last month, the first meeting with Henin, especially on clay, will be a great challenge. And apparently, the fact that Henin is playing her first tournament on clay in two years will not be an obstacle. In addition, the Belgian won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in 2007. (photos: sr_cranks)

I sometimes think that a win over Justine Henin would be a greater career achievement for Jelena Jankovic than a Grand Slam title. Both are former world No.1s, but Jankovic has an embarrassing 0-10 record against Henin.

Jankovic was close to defeating Henin many times. They have played six three-setters so far, including today in the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix quarterfinals, but Jankovic never had the nerve or that important something to go all the way. Moreover, out of those six matches played in three sets, Jankovic won the first set five times, which was the case today as well.

The two hadn’t met since the 2007 Sony Ericsson Championships and today’s quarterfinal in Stuttgart was interesting because it was their first encounter since Henin came out of retirement. As many times before, things started well for the fourth-seeded Jankovic and she took the first set 6-3. In the second set Henin hit 24 unforced errors to Jankovic’s 11, but the Belgian wildcard had 24 winners compared to Jankovic’s 8. Nevertheless, Jankovic had a chance to win the set, as she lost only in the tiebreak which ended with the score 7-4. In the third set Jankovic came back from 0-2 to lead 3-2, but then the beginning of her end started and she finally lost the match 3-6 7-6(4) 6-3.

Henin’s opponent in the semifinals will be Shahar Peer of Israel, who advanced with a 6-3 6-2 victory over rusty Dinara Safina, seeded second. (photo: sr_cranks)

World No.3 Dinara Safina hadn’t played on the Tour since January and the Australian Open, and her first match since returning from the back injury was a victory — the Russian defeated Hungary's Agnes Szavay 7-6(5) 3-6 6-0 in the second round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.

The win over the 33rd-ranked Szavay is a good sign, as only days ago Safina said that the lower back injury could cause her long-term problems and seriously harm her career.

The unseeded Szavay quickly got to a 4-1 lead in the first set, but Safina fought back to win it in over an hour. After losing the second set, the Russian was in full command in the third.

"I don't know if I am more happy than tired or more tired than happy," said Safina, who turned 24 two days ago. "It is always nice to come back with a win, regardless how."

Safina, last year’s runner-up at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, will play Israel’s Shahar Peer in the quarterfinals. (source: Earth Times, photo: © Neal Trousdale)

The ankle injury Caroline Wozniacki sustained in the semifinals of the Family Circle Cup two weeks ago is still hampering the Dane’s movement and she lost to Lucie Safarova 6-4 6-4 in the second round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.

The 38th-ranked Safarova sensed that her opponent had troubles with movement and forced that part of her game. The top-seeded Wozniacki didn’t have a single chance to break Safarova’s serve, while the Czech won the match thanks to one break in each set.

It was the first encounter of Safarova and Wozniacki. The 23-year-old Safarova earned her fifth career win over a Top 5 player by defeating the world No.2 Wozniacki (her first four all came in 2007). (photo: © Neal Trousdale)