Tennis/US Open:Justine Henin underlined her status as the world's best player by winning her second U.S. Open title with another gritty display of perfection on Saturday.
On the men's side, top seed Roger Federer remained on course for his fourth consecutive title by beating stubborn Russian Nikolay Davydenko 7-5 6-1 7-5 in the semi-finals.
The Swiss maestro will face Novak Djokovic in Sunday's final after the young Serb defeated Spain's David Ferrer 6-4 6-4 6-3.
Henin overwhelmed fourth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1 6-3 in just 82 minutes.
"This one is maybe the most important one," the seven-times grand slam winner told reporters.
The quality I played in the last few matches is amazing. I had a tough draw and I had a lot of things to prove to myself -- not to anyone else. And I did."
Henin, winner of this year's French Open, converted four of eight break-point opportunities against Kuznetsova, while the Russian failed on all six chances against the diminutive 25-year-old Belgian.
"I was a bit scared before the match that I would be tired, not being aggressive enough," said Henin, who also won the U.S. Open in 2003. "So I pushed myself on every point. I just kept the intensity all the time and I was there in the rallies.
"I didn't give her a lot of free points."
Firing off both wings with laser-like accuracy, Henin rolled through the tournament without losing a set, beating former champions Serena and Venus Williams along the way.
She is the only player to beat both Williams sisters in a tournament and go on to win the event.
Henin has won three of the four grand slams with only the Wimbledon silverware missing from her trophy case. She had made the final twice but has been unable to triumph in the world's most prestigious tournament.
"Am I going to win Wimbledon one day?," she said. "I keep thinking that I can do it. But now I just think about my seven grand slams, and it just starts to be an amazing number for me."