World number one Justine Henin of Belgium fought back from the brink of defeat to reach the semi-finals of the German Open on Saturday, beating fifth-seeded Serbian Jelena Jankovic 3-6 6-4 6-4.
The five-time grand slam winner showed tremendous grit to recover from 4-0 down in the final set and will play Russian third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova later on Saturday in the semi-finals of the rain-plagued tournament.
The winner of that match will face number 12 seed Ana Ivanovic in Sunday's final. The Serbian teenager went through after unseeded Ukrainian Julia Vakulenko, who upset Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo on Friday, retired at 3-4 down in the first set.
Henin and Jankovic had started their quarter-final on Friday but play was suspended late in the day as darkness fell over the Steffi Graf Stadium with the Serbian ahead at 6-3 4-4.
Henin, the French Open champion and a three-times winner here, held serve when play resumed on Saturday and then broke Jankovic to take the second set.
After slipping 4-0 behind in the decider, the Belgian saved a breakpoint in the fifth game and mounted a thrilling fightback, reeling off six straight games to win in two hours 45 minutes.
Jankovic, the world number six, had never beaten Henin in four previous meetings but also came close in the U.S. Open semi-finals last year.
Jankovic said: 'I thought I had everything under control but Justine just started playing so much better. I have beaten all the top players but she's the only one I have trouble with. She was really a champion today.'
The German Open is one of the last clay events before the French Open begins at Roland Garros in Paris on May 27.
