Sep 8, 2006, 21:19 GMT
New York - Justine Henin-Hardenne turned the tide against Serb Jelena Jankovic, winning the last 10 games to sweep into the final of the US Open Friday 4-6, 6-4, 6-0.
Jankovic, who had beaten a trio of Top 10 players to post the best showing of her young career, suffered a lapse after speaking with the chair umpire over a line call while leading a set 4-2.
Though the dispute was low-key, it proved to be a turning point, with the 21-year-old then double-faulting to lose serve.
That opened the floodgates for five-time Grand Slam winner Henin- Hardenne, who won the last 10 games despite a disorganized start to the semi-final.
On Saturday night, she will face the winner from top seed Amelie Mauresmo and former Wimbledon winner Maria Sharapova.
'I came back a long ways today, I feel lucky to be in the final,' said the 2003 New York champion from Belgium.
'Jelena played well at the start, but I was finally able to play good tennis. I'm happy to be in the final,' she said.
Jankovic, who started the season 1-10 before a May breakthrough in Rome, has gone 32-12 since.
But her brief mental lapse was enough to see the hard-charging Henin-Hardenne through to the fighting victory.
'I was nervous at the start,' admitted the winner, the first woman since Martina Hingis in 1997 to reach all four finals at the majors in the same season.
'She put a lot of pressure on me, she had a lot of motivation, and was playing without pressure. I didn't have a good rhythm,' she said. 'This was the kind of match that I would have lost a few years ago.'
Turn around time for the final is the briefest of any major, but Henin-Hardenne said she will be ready to play the final after dealing with a rib injury in the previous round.
'I don't have the choice, I have to be ready. This was a tough match and I'll need a good recovery,' she said. 'But I'll be giving 200 per cent on court tomorrow night.'
Henin-Hardenne ended the two-hour-plus encounter with 34 winners and nine breaks of serve.
The Belgian has now won a WTA-leading 54 matches this season.
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