Henin, Kuznetsova reach final

Top seed Justine Henin of Belgium battled past two-times champion Venus Williams 7-6 6-4 in a see-saw slugfest on Friday to line up a US Open final against Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Henin, the 2003 champion, won a fiercely fought first set 7-2 in the tiebreaker and broke 12th seed Williams in the final game for victory, following up her quarter-finals victory over two-times winner Serena Williams.

Fourth seed Kuznetsova, who won the Open in 2004, overcame some early nerves to beat compatriot Anna Chakvetadze 3-6 6-1 6-1 in her semi-final on a hot, breezy day at Flushing Meadows.

Henin and Venus met for the first time since the American prevailed in the semi-finals of the 2003 Australian Open.

The two-hour match, marked by rousing rallies and spiced with volley exchanges at the net, was Henin's second win against seven losses to Williams.

"I started the match so well, I was playing unbelievable," Henin said. "But as soon as you give just a little, she comes right back."

"I'm very disappointed," said Williams, who said she felt dizzy and sick to her stomach. "But credit to her for playing well."

In contrast to the high-quality of the Henin-Williams match, Kuznetsova prevailed in an error-filled contest.

Kuznetsova lost her serve four times and had 21 errors in the opening set but won 12 of the last 13 games.

Djokovic downs Ferrer

Novak Djokovic outgunned Spaniard David Ferrer 6-4 6-4 6-3 to become the first Serbian man to reach a grand slam final at the US Open yesterday.

The third seed struggled in the hot conditions but his greater power helped him win through to a final against either Roger Federer or Nikolay Davydenko.