Battle of the Belgians

Justine Henin faces Magdalena Maleeva in the quarterfinals. AP

ANTWERP, Belgium (AP) -- Second-seeded Justine Henin beat fellow Belgian Els Callens in straight sets Wednesday to win a place in the quarterfinals of the $585,000 Diamond Games.

The world No. 9 showed no mercy to her friend from Belgium's Fed Cup-winning team, racing to a 5-0 lead in barely 15 minutes before taking the match 6-1, 6-4.

Venus Williams also cruised into the quarterfinals, overpowering Anna Kournikova 7-5, 6-0.

Williams appeared to take some time to adjust to the fast court, and she had to deal with eight break points.

"Anna played real well," Williams said. "I needed time to find my rhythm on the surface."

She saved three break points at 5-5 and eventually took the first set when Kournikova double-faulted.

"I'm positive about it. It was a great set and it showed I can hold my own against the No. 2 in the world," said Kournikova, who missed most of last season with a broken foot.

In the round of eight, Williams will face the winner of Thursday's match between fifth-seeded Silvia Farina Elia and qualifier Marie-Gaiane Mikaelian.

Henin will face sixth seed Magdalena Maleeva of Bulgaria, who beat Meilen Tu of the United States 6-4, 6-3.

"It warms my heart to be playing here in Belgium in front of my home crowd," Henin said after the match. "It's something special for me."

After crashing out in the quarterfinals of her last three tournaments, including the Australian Open, Henin said she's still experimenting with a new serve to make up for her lack of height and power.

"My movement has to be more compact; I'm not a big girl, so I have to adapt the movement to my size," she said. "It will take a while before it's fixed."

Although Callens was overwhelmed by the speed of Henin's game in the first set, a more aggressive game from the veteran doubles specialist combined with an inconsistent first serve from Henin made the second set more even. But last year's Wimbledon finalist eventually found her range and fired in an ace to take the match.

 

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