Mauresmo, Henin-Hardenne Into Final

MADRID, Spain - Two players who dominated the Grand Slam circuit this year will fittingly square off for the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships title, after Amélie Mauresmo and Justine Henin-Hardenne held off valiant challenges in Saturday's semifinals. With her intense win over Maria Sharapova, Henin-Hardenne also secured the year-end No.1 ranking.

Henin-Hardenne and Sharapova were the first pair to do battle Saturday afternoon, and the conclusion of the 62 76(5) victory was nothing short of high drama. Henin-Hardenne blazed through the opening set in just 34 minutes and raced out to a 5-3 lead in the second set. In those situations, Sharapova has been known to bring out her best, and this time was no different. She broke back and held for 5-all then rallied her way into a tie-break. There just wasn't enough gas left in the tank once there, however; she quickly fell behind 4-1, and although she managed to close in somewhat to 6-4, it was all over two points later.

Henin-Hardenne becomes the first player since Steffi Graf in 1993 to reach the finals at all four majors as well as the season-ending Championships. The German finished runner-up to Monica Seles at the Australian Open that year, then swept all the other titles.

Mauresmo rallies past Clijsters, eyes title defense

Having struggled with form and injury throughout the fall indoor season, Amélie Mauresmo has again taken it up a notch in the last week of the year; the Frenchwoman gave herself the chance at a repeat with a hard-fought 62 36 63 win over former two-time champion Kim Clijsters in the day's second semifinal.

"The atmosphere at the end was just incredible," Mauresmo said after the match. "The way people got involved in the match was so nice. And for both of us to be able to play some very high level of tennis, it really feels great."

"In these matches it's only a few points that make the difference," Clijsters later said. "At the end it could have gone either way, especially at 3-all, where she held and I had break points. But I thought the way she came out was incredible. I don't think I've ever played against her where she played as well as she did in the first set. There's nothing you can do, just try to keep hanging in there."