Sony Ericsson WTA Tour : 2006


Henin-Hardenne, Mauresmo Reach Australian Open Final

Two former No.1 players who have compiled some of their best results down under will fittingly do battle for the Australian Open women's singles title, as Justine Henin-Hardenne plays Amélie Mauresmo at Melbourne Park on Saturday


The first player to advance to the final was Henin-Hardenne, the No.8 seed in Melbourne, who battled back from a one-set deficit to defeat No.4 seed Maria Sharapova 46 61 64 in two hours, 26 minutes. Sharapova successfully dictated play in the early goings with fierce, penetrating groundstrokes, losing her serve once but converting on both of her break point opportunities to capture the 50-minute first set. Just like she had done in her previous round against top seed Lindsay Davenport, however, Henin-Hardenne began clawing her way back into the match, increasing the aggression from all areas of the court, running Sharapova around with deep topspin groundstrokes, slices and short angles. The four-time Grand Slam champion cruised through the 37-minute second set and broke midway through the third to take a 4-2 lead. The two former world No.1s held serve the next two games before Sharapova broke back, but Henin-Hardenne stepped it up with the Russian teenager serving 4-5, ending a long rally on her first match point with a stunning backhand down-the-line winner.

"I think it was a great match," said Henin-Hardenne, who has now won 20 consecutive matches in Australia. "Maria, she played a great match, the best I've seen her play since a long time. I was dominating the first set and then on my serve I lost a little bit of aggression. I was too far from my baseline, and she could take the first set. Then I tried to change that in the second set, so it made the big difference that I was just staying on my baseline, instead of being three meters behind my baseline. It was tough, very intense, even in the third set. But very happy the way it ended, for sure."



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