World number one Justine Henin was disappointed to bow out of the German Open on Sunday after losing her semi-final to Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, but pleased with her preparation to defend her French Open title.
The third-seeded Russian will play 12th seed Serb Ana Ivanovic in the final after beating Henin 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 on Sunday, but the 24-year-old Belgian was pleased with her tennis ahead of Roland Garros which starts on May 28.
Having battled back to win the second set, Henin was always on the back foot in the third and after Kuznetsova, fourth in the world, held a 3-2 lead over-night the 24-year-old Belgian saw the game slip from her grasp on Sunday.
"It was very hard because of the weather breaks every day," said the three-time French Open winner and defending champion after several of her matches in Berlin were affected by long rain-breaks.
"I am a little bit tired, but it was good preparation for the French Open in two weeks. "Kuznetsova was strong and she is capabale of winning the French Open."
It had been a tough two days for Henin, who came back from 4-0 down in the third set of Saturday's quarter-final against Serb Jelena Jankovic to reach the semi-final in the best game of the tournament so far. And the exertions of two huge games in two days took their toll on the three-times winner of the German Open, who is looking to win her third consecutive French Open title in a fortnight.
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