Former world number one Justine Henin continued her stunning comeback to tennis, becoming the first player into the semifinals of the Australian Open.

Henin, playing her first Grand Slam tournament after returning from an 18-month retirement, defeated Russian No. 19 seed Nadia Petrova 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 in their quarterfinal on Tuesday.

Henin will play an unseeded player, either China's Zheng Jie or Russia's Maria Kirilenko in a semifinal on Thursday.

"I hope I can make another final here in Melbourne," said Henin.

Petrova had ousted 2009 Grand Slam champions Kim Clijsters and Svetlana Kuznetsova in the previous two rounds.