Henin beats Venus Williams at U.S. Open

NEW YORK, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Justine Henin Friday beat Venus Williams, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4, in the second of Friday's semifinals at the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament in New York.

The victory for the top-seeded and world No. 1 Henin set up a battle against fourth-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova for the 2007 title Saturday night.

It also gave Henin a sweep of the Williams sisters at this year's Open, as she beat No. 8 seed Serena, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1, in the quarterfinals Tuesday.

She improved to 2-7 lifetime against 12th-seeded Venus.

"I just kept fighting," Henin said after battling some breathing difficulty in the second set. "I just kept fighting (and) I'm happy to get this one."

Kuznetsova overcame the sixth-seeded Anna Chakvetadze, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1, in Friday's first semifinal.

Henin is 4-0 against Kuznetsova in Grand Slam match-ups, and seeks her 36th career title.