Belgian beats Sharapova, reaches final

By wire services
Published January 26, 2006

MELBOURNE, Australia - Justine Henin-Hardenne beat Maria Sharapova 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 to advance to the Australian Open final and extend her win streak at Melbourne Park to 13.

Henin-Hardenne, the reigning French Open champion, missed the tournament last year because of a stress fracture in her right leg after beating fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters in the 2004 Australian Open final.

Clijsters, who took over as No.1 when she beat Martina Hingis in the quarterfinals, faced Amelie Mauresmo in the other semifinal today.

Sharapova dictated play in the first set but became increasingly frustrated as Henin-Hardenne chased every ball with her baseline coverage.

After breaking Sharapova's serve four times in the second set, Henin-Hardenne held her serve in the fifth game of the third then broke Sharapova in the sixth.

Henin-Hardenne served for the match at 5-3 but opened with a double-fault and dropped serve for the only time in the set.

Sharapova then failed to hold serve to stay in the match, with Henin-Hardenne sealing the match with a backhand winner down the line.

Sharapova, the 2004 Wimbledon champion, reached the semifinals of three of the four Grand Slams last season and lost to the eventual champion at all four.

She lost to Serena Williams here in the semifinals and to Henin-Hardenne in the French Open quarterfinals.

Earlier, Clijsters took over as No.1 in the world by beating someone who used to rule the sport. Hingis was making her Grand Slam comeback after three years of retirement.

Clijsters, who will replace Lindsay Davenport atop the women's rankings, won 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 over Hingis, who won three straight Australian Open titles in 1997-99 and lost in the finals the next three years.

"I can be proud. You just can't think you're going to go out there and win everything," Hingis said. "I lost only 6-4 in the third against the No. 1 player, so I don't think it's that bad. You think I'm going to give up right now?"

Clijsters, 22, has been so troubled by injuries she already has begun talking about her time after tennis. For now though, she's concentrating on added another major to her 2005 U.S. Open title.

"After the year I had last year, this is the cherry on the cake," she said about the No. 1 ranking. "It was never a goal. Keep working hard, and good things happen."

Hingis quit in late 2002 because of persistent foot and heel problems and returned to competitive tennis Jan. 2. Once she got comfortable with the pace against Clijsters, Hingis was able to dictate some points with her court craft and cunning, making up for a lack of power.

While Hingis' return ended, her Swiss compatriot, Roger Federer, stayed on course for his seventh Grand Slam title. The top seed reached the semifinals with a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (7-5) win over No. 5 Nikolay Davydenko.

Federer had some problems for the second straight match. After beating Tommy Haas in five sets, he almost fell behind 2-1 in sets to Davydenko. But the Russian, 24, pushed a forehand just wide in the ninth game of the third set.

Instead of getting another break point chance, Davydenko allowed Federer back into the game. And Federer made him pay.

"I'm extremely, extremely happy to come through," Federer said. "I never felt like I'd lose. But he had me in trouble. I really had to fight."

Federer next plays Nicolas Kiefer, who needed 4 hours, 48 minutes, including a 96-minute final set, to defeat No. 25 Sebastien Grosjean 6-3, 0-6, 6-4, 6-7 (1-7), 8-6.

SUSPENSION APPEAL: Mariano Puerta, the French Open finalist, appealed his eight-year suspension for failing a drug test. The Court of Arbitration for Sport normally issues verdicts within four months. He tested positive for the stimulant etilefrine on June 5, his second offense.

[Last modified January 26, 2006, 01:15:03]