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Henin-Hardenne beats Sharapova

The Belgian to finish the year as No. 1

INCREDIBLE FEELING: Justine Henin-Hardenne celebrates her win over Maria Sharapova in the WTA championships on Saturday.

MADRID : Justine Henin-Hardenne will finish the year as the top-ranked player in women's tennis after beating Maria Sharapova 6-2, 7-5(5) on Saturday in the semifinals of the WTA championships.

Henin-Hardenne beat the Russian for the third time in four meetings this year — the Belgian's only loss coming in the U.S. Open final.

The victory clinched Henin-Hardenne's second year-end No. 1 ranking. Amelie Mauresmo will finish her 34 consecutive weeks as No. 1 at the end of the tournament.

``It's amazing. I'm very happy,'' Henin-Hardenne said. ``I'm very happy with the way I handled the pressure today. The season is not over yet. I'm No. 1 but I still want to win this tournament.''

Henin-Hardenne will face either defending champion Mauresmo or two-time winner Kim Clijsters, who play in the other semifinal match.

``It's going to be a tough match either way,'' Henin-Hardenne said.

Contrasting wins

On Friday, Holder Amelie Mauresmo and in-form Maria Sharapova enjoyed contrasting wins as they booked their semifinal places. Mauresmo dug deep to battle back from a set and a break down to beat already-qualified Justine Henin-Hardenne 4-6, 7-6, 6-2, while World No. 2 Sharapova produced another ruthless display to blow away fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-4.

The results: Semifinals: Justine Henin-Hardenne bt Maria Sharapova 6-2, 7-5(5). Yellow Group: Amelie Mauresmo bt Justine Henin-Hardenne 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-2.

Red Group: Maria Sharapova bt Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-4. — Agencies

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