The pair exchanged breaks early in the opening set before Henin-Hardenne gained the upper hand when she broke the Mauresmo serve with the help of a net cord to go 4-3 up. Mauresmo beat Henin-Hardenne in the Wimbledon final and the Australian Open and once again she got the better of the Belgian on Friday. Sharapova hammered Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1 6-4 in just over an hour in their red group encounter and the Russian - who was winning her 19th consecutive match - will now face Henin-Hardenne in Saturday's semi.įrench Open champion Henin-Hardenne, who returned to action this week after two months on the sidelines because of a calf injury sustained in the final of the Fed Cup, will clinch the number one spot if she beats Sharapova.
The win will help compensate Mauresmo for the disappointment of losing her number one spot which will be taken by either Henin-Hardenne or the in-form Maria Sharapova when the year-end rankings are released next week. The Frenchwoman now tops the yellow group ahead of Henin-Hardenne and the two players will progress to the last four while former world number one Martina Hingis has been elminated. MADRID, Spain - Defending champion Amelie Mauresmo battled her way back from a set down to defeat the already qualified Justine Henin-Hardenne 4-6 7-6 6-2 and book her place in the semifinals of the WTA Championships in Madrid on Friday.
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