Justine Henin-Hardenne beats Maria Sharapova

November 11th, 2006

Madrid, Spain - Justine Henin-Hardenne finishs the year as world No.1 after defeating Maria Sharapova 6-2 7-6 (7-5).

Justine Henin-Hardenne will finish the year as world No.1 after defeating Maria Sharapova 6-2 7-6 (7-5) to move through to the final of the WTA Tour Championship in Madrid.

The Belgian superstar will face-off against Amelie Mauresmo in the final of the WTA Tour Championship in Madrid after the Frenchwoman overpowered Kim Clijsters 6-2 3-6 6-3.

Henin-Hardenne was in superb form, cruising through the first set in just 34 minutes and racing to a 5-3 lead in the second set.

However Sharapova displayed her true fighting spirit, rallying against the odds to square it up at 5-all, before forcing a tie-breaker.

"It's going to be me and I'm very happy about that," Henin-Hardenne told reporters.

"It's not easy to get to the finals of all four Grand Slams, and that's what I did. I've been very consistent, and I'm now in the final again."

"2006 is almost done, and when I look back, I see only good things, even when I think about my tough matches in the grand slam finals."

"It's probably the best season of my career; I'll enjoy it in the next two months."

Sharapova, who entered the semi-final as the only woman not to lose a match in the round-robin stage of the tournament, struggled with her serve during the match, hitting six double faults.

"I felt a little sluggish," Sharapova said.