Justine Henin moved one step closer to another remarkable Belgian return when she advanced to the semi-finals of the Australian Open this morning. The 27-year-old ended the giant-killing run of Nadia Petrova 7-6 (7/3) 7-5 on Rod Laver Arena to become just the third women's wildcard entry to reach the last four of a grand slam.
The previous player to do so was Henin's countrywoman Kim Clijsters in September last year when she memorably returned from retirement, and becoming a mother, to win the US Open.
Henin is on course to replicate that performance less than four weeks after returning from her own 20-month retirement with only unseeded Chinese player Zheng Jie standing between her and the final.
After her win against Petrova, who had eliminated Clijsters and third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the previous two rounds, Henin admitted her run at Melbourne Park had exceeded her expectations.
"I remember my discussion with (coach) Carlos (Rodriguez) on the plane when we were flying to Australia we were talking about the goals - it's much more than what we expected," said Henin, who reached the final of her first tournament in Brisbane a fortnight ago.
"I was coming here to see a lot of things. I was curious about what I was going to feel on the court, but now I've won a lot of matches and everything is going well for us.
"I think I have improved a lot in this tournament since in Brisbane.
"I wasn't able to play well in the tough moments at first, but in the last few matches I have been able to.
"That is probably the most important thing."
Henin admitted she had been inspired by Clijsters' success at Flushing Meadows, but when asked if she was using it as motivation as she closes in on her own dream return, the Belgian said: "Not really. What she did, I did admire that a lot because it's not easy what she did in New York.
"What she did means it is possible for me. But we have very different kind of personalities, different kind of players, so it's always very hard to compare.
"But what she did was just great. That will be a dream for me to do it also."
Henin will now meet world number 35 Zheng in the semi-finals after the 26-year-old swept past Maria Kirilenko 6-1 6-3 in one hour and 25 minutes.
Collated results
Men's Singles Quarter-finals:(14) Marin Cilic (Cro) bt (7) Andy Roddick (USA) 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 3-6 2-6 6-3, (5) Andy Murray (Gbr) bt (2) Rafael Nadal (Spa) 6-3 7-6 (7-2) 3-0 ret
Women's Singles Quarter-finals:Justine Henin (Bel) bt (19) Nadia Petrova (Rus) 7-6 (7-3) 7-5, Jie Zheng (Chn) bt Maria Kirilenko (Rus) 6-1 6-3
Men's Doubles 3rd rd:Ivo Karlovic (Cro) & Dusan Vemic (Ser) bt (5) Lukasz Kubot (Pol) & Oliver Marach (Aut) 2-6 7-6 (13-11) 7-6 (7-4)
Quarter-finals:(1) Bob Bryan (USA) & Mike Bryan (USA) bt Eric Butorac (USA) & Rajeev Ram (USA) 7-5 4-6 7-6 (7-2), Michael Kohlmann (Ger) & Jarkko Nieminen (Fin) bt Fernando Gonzalez (Chi) & Ivan Ljubicic (Cro) 4-6 6-1 2-0 ret
Women's Doubles 3rd rd:(1) Cara Black (Zim) & Liezel Huber (USA) bt Victoria Azarenka (Blr) & Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus) 6-3 6-3
Quarter-finals:(6) Lisa Raymond (USA) & Rennae Stubbs (Aus) bt (13) Gisela Dulko (Arg) & Flavia Pennetta (Ita) 4-6 6-2 6-2, (2) Venus Williams (USA) & Serena Williams (USA) bt (8) Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) & Zi Yan (Chn) 6-4 4-6 6-4
Mixed Doubles 2nd rd:(7) Lisa Raymond (USA) & Wesley Moodie (Rsa) bt Iveta Benesova (Cze) & Lukas Dlouhy (Cze) 6-1 6-4, Raquel Kops-Jones (USA) & Dick Norman (Bel) bt Lucie Hradecka (Cze) & Frantisek Cermak (Cze) w/o
Junior Boy's Singles 2nd rd:Oliver Golding (Gbr) bt Sam Barry (Irl) 6-7 (8-10) 6-3 6-4
Junior Girl's Singles 2nd rd:Laura Robson (Gbr) bt (11) Yulia Putintseva (Rus) 6-2 3-6 6-2
Junior Boy's Doubles 2nd rd:Tom Allen (Gbr) & Jack Carpenter (Gbr) bt Kalle Averfalk (Swe) & Leandro Toledo (Ger) 6-2 6-3