Leipzig, Sept 30: Anastasia Myskina beats world number two Justine Henin-Hardenne to win Leipzig Grand Prix tennis. Anastasia Myskina caused one of the year's biggest upsets when she stunned world number two Justine Henin-Hardenne 3-6 6-3 6-3 to win the Leipzig Grand Prix on Sunday. The Russian third seed, who reached the final after top seed Kim Clijsters retired with a strained ankle during their semi-final on Saturday, outplayed the French and U.S. Open champion to win her third title of the season. "It's definitely the biggest win of my career," Myskina said after ending Henin-Hardenne's 22-match winning streak. Having lost the first set, Myskina dominated the latter stages with her bold counter-hitting tactics. Although the Belgian failed to win her eighth title of the year, she nevertheless closed the gap with the world number one Clijsters in the rankings.


Henin will trail her compatriot by 288 points when the new WTA rankings are released on Monday.


"I have mixed feelings about the week," Henin said. "I have had a good week and will go to Filderstadt (next month) feeling I can do even better.


"But of course it's disappointing to lose."


After recovering from a break down thanks to a double fault from Myskina, Henin took charge of the first set by hitting an array of winners. Unable to handle Henin's sublime shot making, Myskina dropped her serve again in the ninth game to lose the set.


With the crowd getting behind the under-siege Russian, Myskina got her game together in the second set and penetrated Henin's serve to gain a 4-3 lead.


That proved to be the turning point in the match as Myskina began to prowl the court with increasing confidence while Henin simply wilted under pressure.

"I made too many mistakes in the first set when I was nervous and kept thinking I had lost my early break of serve," added Myskina. "But then Justine's level dropped a little in the second, and gave me a chance to get back into the match.


"Then I felt ready to win. If you are ready you can win, if you are shaking you can't."


Bureau Report