Women's semis on tap Friday at the Open

The finalists for the 2007 U.S. Open women's final will be determined on Friday when Justine Henin meets Venus Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova battles fellow Russian Anna Chakvetadze.

The top-seeded/world No. 1 Henin is a dismal 1-7 lifetime against the 12th- seeded Williams, who has won their last seven matchups, dating back to 2001, a year in which the American topped the Belgian in the Wimbledon finale. Williams is a perfect 3-0 in their Grand Slam meetings, but the two have never met here in New York.

Henin handled Williams' younger sister Serena in straight sets in a quarterfinal here on Tuesday night. It marked the third straight Grand Slam quarterfinal victory for Henin against Serena in the last few months.

The 25-year-old Henin owns six major titles, including her third straight and fourth overall French Open championship earlier this season. The diminutive Belgian was last year's U.S. Open runner-up to Russian superstar Maria Sharapova and titled here in Flushing in 2003.

The 27-year-old Venus also owns six major titles, including a fourth Wimbledon championship in July. The former top-ranked star captured the U.S. Open back- to-back in 2000 and 2001 and is also a two-time runner-up in the Big Apple.

In an all-Russian semi, the fourth-seeded Kuznetsova will tangle with the sixth-seeded Chakvetadze for a third time in their careers, with Kuznetsova holding a 2-0 all-time advantage. They've never met in Grand Slam play and have not faced each other this season.

The 20-year-old Chakvetadze will appear in her first-ever major semi.

The 22-year-old Kuznetsova captured the 2004 U.S. Open title by besting Elena Dementieva in an all-Russian finale. She also appeared in last year's French Open final, but lost to the mighty Henin.