Clijsters sets up Henin final in Brisbane

Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters have found themselves back in the old days after the pair,who grew up playing junior tennis together, set up a tantalising all-Belgian final at the Brisbane International final yesterday.

Henin, playing her first tournament since her shock retirement in 2008, crushed Serbia's Ana Ivanovic 6-3 6-2 in a little over an hour in their semi-final.

Then Clijsters, who won last year's US Open after making her own fairytale comeback, demolished Germany's Andrea Petkovic 6-4 6-2 in an ominous sign of her intentions for this month's Australian Open.

"I don't think anyone around the world expected to see this again," Clijsters said of meeting Henin in the final.

"I look forward to it. Back to the old days."

The former Fed Cup team-mates have already played each other 22 times before, with Henin holding a 12-10 advantage, but today's final will be their first clash since the 2006 Wimbledon semi-finals.

Playing her fourth match in five days, the super-fit Henin showed no signs of rustiness or fatigue as she provided a glimpse of the form that helped her win seven grand slam titles.

"It's a perfect situation for me as I'm in the final of my first tournament, it's a great feeling," she said.

"I didn't know what to expect with ups and downs this week. I need a few more months to really be at my top. I have to remember it's my first tournament back."

In the men's event, American Andy Roddick and Czech Tomas Berdych both won their quarter-finals to join holder Radek Stepanek and Gael Monfils in today's semi-finals.

Roddick sent down 16 aces in beating Richard Gasquet 6-3 7-6 after Berdych edged past Brazil's Thomaz Bellucci 7-6 2-6 7-6.

"I knew I had to come out and play a lot more aggressively than I have had so far this tournament," Roddick said.