NEW YORK - Justine Henin said she felt she had made an important statement by beating American Venus Williams on Friday to reach the final of the US Open.

Justine Henin of Belgium celebrates defeating Venus Williams of the US after their match at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in Flushing Meadows, New York, September 7, 2007. [Reuters] The top seed beat the Wimbledon champion 7-6 6-4 in a match of the highest quality to set up a final against former champion Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia.

Despite her win over Serena Williams in the quarter-finals, Henin had lost seven of her previous eight meetings with Venus and many observers had predicted a win for the American.

"It's a great feeling," she told reporters.

"I really believed I could do it, and that's maybe why I did achieve it. I don't think a lot of people thought I could beat her here in this tournament."

In the four and a half years since she last played Venus, Henin has won all six of her grand-slam titles and reached the top of the world rankings.

"I didn't believe enough in myself, didn't trust myself enough in the last few years against them (the Williams sisters).

"And then this year a lot of things have changed. I trust myself much more. I still have a lot of respect, but I'm not scared any more.

"It's been really, really important to me in this tournament to play both of them. It was a great challenge and I did it, so it's great."

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