Wozniacki battles past King, Dulko stuns Henin

INDIAN WELLS: Argentina''s Gisela Dulko delivered one of the best wins of her career when she beat former world number one Justine Henin 6-2 1-6 6-4 at the Indian Wells WTA tournament on Friday.

Dulko, seeded 31st at the $4.5 million event, broke 2004 champion Henin three times in an error-strewn final set before wrapping up victory in one hour 56 minutes.

Serving at 40-0, the Argentine chased down a delicate drop shot by the Belgian before hitting a sharply angled crosscourt forehand winner to end the match.

The 25-year-old from Buenos Aires then sank to her knees in disbelief as the fans watching on the stadium court applauded her success.

"It feels great," Dulko said in a courtside interview after advancing to the third round where she will meet fifth seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland.

"I don''t think I can talk right now. I am so excited, so happy. She (Henin) is an unbelievable champion and to beat her on this court is very special."

Henin, a dangerous wildcard entry, had been competing in her first tournament since losing to American Serena Williams in the Australian Open final in late January.

The Belgian, a seven-times grand slam champion, had reached successive finals since returning to the circuit this year after quitting the game in 2008.

Earlier on Friday, second seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark battled past American Vania King 5-7 6-2 6-4 while fourth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva also had to work hard before beating Olga Govortsova of Belarus 6-4 4-6 6-0.

The 19-year-old Wozniacki clawed her way back from 4-1 down in the third set before sealing victory in two hours 28 minutes when King hit a backhand long.

"I just kept fighting for every point," a relieved Wozniacki said after breaking her unseeded opponent in the seventh and ninth games of the final set.

"Vania was playing really, really good and it was a tough match but I am so happy I came through."

Asked what she felt when she trailed in the final set, the Dane replied: "I was just telling myself: ''It''s not over yet''. She still has two more games before she wins the match.

"I stepped it up a little bit at that point, and I think she got a little bit more nervous as well because she knew that she could finish the match. I just kept hanging in there."

In other matches, 22nd-seeded German Sabine Lisicki made an early exit when she retired from her match against American Jill Craybas trailing 4-6 7-5 2-0.

Fifth seed Radwanska advanced when Russian Anna Chakvetadze also retired at 6-2 5-3 while 18th seed Zheng Jie of China beat Romania''s Sorana Cirstea 6-3 7-5.