World number one Justine Henin of Belgium fought back from the brink of defeat to reach the semi-finals of the German Open today, beating fifth-seeded Serbian Jelena Jankovic 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.

The five-times Grand Slam winner showed tremendous grit to come back from 4-0 down in the final set and will play Russian third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova later today for a place in the final of the rain-plagued tournament.

Henin and Jankovic had started their quarter-final yesterday but play was suspended late in the day as darkness fell over the Steffi Graf Stadium with Jankovic ahead at 6-3, 4-4.

Henin, the French Open champion and a three-times winner here, held serve when play resumed today and then broke Jankovic to take the second set.

After slipping 4-0 behind in the decider, the Belgian saved a breakpoint in the fifth game and mounted a thrilling fightback, reeling off six straight games to win in two hours 45 minutes.

In the other semi-final, Serbian teenager and number 12 seed Ana Ivanovic beat unseeded Ukrainian Julia Vakulenko, who upset Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo, 4-3, the latter retiring.

Jankovic, the world number six, had never beaten Henin in four previous meetings but also came close in the US Open semi-finals last year.

The German Open is one of the last clay events before the French Open begins at Roland Garros in Paris on May 28.

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