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By Paul Tait
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Kim Clijsters won a Belgian battle at the Australian Open (news - web sites) on Wednesday when she overpowered compatriot and sixth seed Justine Henin (news - profile - photos) 6-2 6-3 to reach the semifinals in Melbourne for the first time.
Fourth seed Clijsters, beaten finalist at the French Open (news - web sites) last year, had too much power for the diminutive Henin and has now beaten her close friend in four of their last five meetings over the past 12 months.
In the first set, an aggressive Clijsters dictated the terms of the match from the baseline, luring Henin into rallies and then slamming big forehand winners past her lunging opponent.
``It's very important against her to get aggressive from the first point on,'' a delighted Clijsters told local television.
The second set followed roughly the same pattern, with Clijsters gaining the decisive break of serve in the eighth game.
Wimbledon (news - web sites) finalist Henin also gifted Clijsters easy points by hitting 30 unforced errors -- twice the number of her Belgian Fed Cup team mate.
Clijsters went on to serve out the match on her second match point after 74 minutes on Melbourne Park's Rod Laver Arena.
The match had promised to be one of the best of the tournament, with both women desperate to win their first grand slam title.
But Clijsters proved too strong in a surprisingly one-sided match and now leads their career head-to-head record at 4-3.
``It's not easy, I would love to see both of us do well in grand slams, it would also be good for Belgium,'' Clijsters said.
``As soon as the match is finished we're friends, but when we're on court we fight against each other,'' she said.