Henin dumped out by Stosur

Title favourite and four-time champion Justine Henin suffered her first French Open defeat in six years in the fourth round at Roland Garros.

The Belgian, who won three consecutive titles from 2005 to 2007 before an 18-month period in retirement, was beaten 2-6 6-1 6-4 by Samantha Stosur.

The Australian has been a revelation since reaching the semi-finals at Roland Garros last year, climbing to a career-high world ranking of seven.

Henin, who beat Stosur to win the WTA Tour title in Stuttgart earlier this month, began the stronger, breaking her opponent in the opening game and then again to take the first set.

But Stosur responded impressively, breaking through on her first chance in the second set and dominating against the 22nd seed, who is a crowd favourite in the French capital.

The decider was understandably tighter but it was Stosur who made the first move, breaking Henin to lead 3-2.

The Belgian had come from a break down in the third set to beat Maria Sharapova in the previous round and a nervous game from Stosur, including two double faults, helped her level immediately.

But the seventh seed was not to be denied and, after breaking again in game nine, she served out for victory. A double fault on her first match point hinted at an opportunity for Henin but a series of uncharacteristic backhand errors proved her undoing.

Stosur now faces top seed Serena Williams, who she lost to at the Australian Open earlier this year, for a place in the last four.