Belgian Fed Cup teammates Justine Henin and Yanina Wickmayer will face off in Stuttgart after Henin overcame a broken finger to defeat Julia Goerges' 7-6, 6-1 and Wickmayer bested Francesca Schiavone 6-3, 6-3.
Henin won despite playing with a splint on her left ring finger, which she broke last week during a Fed Cup practice. "The improvement is pretty good, even if my finger is not yet beautiful, it's still really blue but the pain is a lot less and that's a nice feeling," she said. "I have started to get used to the splint during the match so I felt better today."
Wickmayer meanwhile, is suffering from an elbow problem.
Henin and the 20-year-old Wickmayer played for the first time at the Australian Open, a three-set victory for the veteran, and helped Belgium to a Fed Cup victory against Estonia during the weekend. "It's going to be really exciting,” Henin said. “It's going to be on clay so it's a different situation. We were together in Fed Cup a few days ago, and I can't wait for this match." M.C.