Kim Clijsters held on to win a momentum-swinging, all-Belgian final at the Brisbane International in Australia in a vintage finish Saturday to Justine Henin's tour comeback.
Clijsters, five tournaments into her own comeback that has already netted the U.S. Open title, saved two match points and wasted three before winning 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (8-6) over the seven-time Grand Slam tournament winner."I think we set the bar pretty high for ourselves for the rest of the year," Clijsters said. "It's a great tournament to start the year with. I couldn't be happier with myself."
Henin immediately withdrew from this week's Sydney International, saying she had strained her upper left leg and didn't want to risk further injury ahead of her Grand Slam return at the Australian Open, which starts Jan. 17 in Melbourne.
Clijsters led by a set and 4-1 before Henin, who struggled early and had two double faults to open her first service game, staged a dramatic rally.
Henin, playing in the top tier for the first time since she quit while holding the No. 1 ranking in May 2008, won the next eight games to take a 3-0 lead in the third set.
Henin, who is 12-11 in matches against Clijsters, said it was the most intense match of their rivalry.
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