Doha, Mar 06: Justine Henin-Hardenne suffered her first defeat of 2004 when she lost in three sets to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the Qatar Open semi-finals. The world number one, who had won 16 successive matches to start the season, went down 6-2 4-6 6-3.

"She played extremely well and I wasn't my usual self," said Henin-Hardenne. "I kept fighting but it was not enough."

Kuznetsova will face Anastasia Myskina in the final after her fellow Russian beat Jennifer Capriati 6-2 6-2.
Bureau Report