Belgium’s Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin got next

Reporting from Wimbledon, England — 

Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin, for all the history the two Belgians have together, have played each other at Wimbledon only once. Henin beat Clijsters in the semifinals in 2006.

On Monday in the fourth round, they will play here for a second time.

That matchup was set Friday after each won with relative ease. Henin, seeded 17th, beat 12th-seeded Nadia Petrova, 6-1, 6-4, and the eighth-seeded Clijsters had an equally routine win over another Russian, 27th-seeded Maria Kirilenko, 6-3, 6-3.

Henin and Clijsters have played 24 times as professionals and have so far split the meetings down the middle, each winning 12 times. That was before each of them took tennis sabbaticals.

Clijsters returned to tennis last summer after taking an 18-month break during which she married and had a daughter. Her return to the sport was almost immediately capped by her win at the U.S. Open last September. Henin missed 18 months and returned to the circuit in January.

They’ve met twice this year with Clijsters winning both matches — 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (6) in Brisbane before the Australian Open and 6-2, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (6) in Miami in the spring.

“That’s something I hope happens again,” Clijsters said. “In the two matches we played against each other this year, we’ve brought out the best in each other.”

“It’s a great opportunity for both of us,” Henin said. “To play each other again in a Grand Slam, I think it’s something we couldn’t expect a year ago.”

Also out of retirement

Lindsay Davenport wants to make it clear. She is not preparing for any sort of long-term tennis commitment. But after retiring two years ago after having her second child, Davenport has entered a couple of mixed doubles events, including Wimbledon.

She and partner Bob Bryan were first-round winners, beating Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan and Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia 7-6 (3), 6-3.

“It was fun, but I was really nervous about it,” Davenport said. “I haven’t played competitive in two years, and mixed can be hard to get back into.”

Bob and his brother Mike are aiming at another record. If they win the men’s doubles title at Wimbledon, they will have topped the record number of doubles titles (61) held by Australians Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge.

diane.pucin@latimes.com

twitter.com/mepucin