> Sonyericsson Championships : Season ending Ladies tennis tournament

Four former champions and five No.1s are in Madrid this week for arguably the most competitive season-ending Championships in Sony Ericsson WTA Tour history, which also features the first-ever three-way battle for the year-end No.1 ranking. The Group allocations for the round robin stage were held on Sunday for the $3-million Sony Ericsson Championships, to be held for the first time in the Spanish capital, November 7-12 (draw attached in PDF format).

Honoring the host nation, the two Groups have been named Yellow and Red, with four players from the elite eight – who qualified based on their results during the regular 2006 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour season – randomly placed in each Group.

The world’s Top 2 players – No.1 Amélie Mauresmo (FRA) and No.2 Maria Sharapova – head the Yellow and Red Groups respectively. Completing the Yellow Group is world No.3 Justine Henin-Hardenne (BEL), No.5 Nadia Petrova (RUS) and No.8 Martina Hingis (SUI). The remainder of an almost all-Russian Red Group consists of No.4 Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS), No.6 Kim Clijsters (BEL) and No.7 Elena Dementieva (RUS).

For the first time in Sony Ericsson WTA Tour history, there is a three-way battle for the year-end No.1 ranking, with incumbent Mauresmo up against Sharapova and Henin-Hardenne for the coveted achievement.

Speaking at the official draw ceremony in Madrid on Sunday, world No.7 Elena Dementieva said: “I had a feeling I would be in the Red Group and that it would be almost totally Russian. I don’t think it really matters what Group you’re in; all the players who’ve qualified deserve to be here. Everyone has a chance to win, and I’ll be just trying to do my best – it’s going to be a great challenge for everyone.

“The last time I was in Madrid was in 2001 for the Fed Cup Semifinals and Final (featuring Belgium, France, Russia and Spain). It’s funny, because there was Justine, Amélie, Nadia and Kim. We were all here, so it’s interesting we’re back again to compete this week.”

The four former champions – Clijsters (2002/03), Hingis (1998/2000), Mauresmo (2005) and Sharapova (2004) – are evenly placed in the two Groups. It is the first time since 1992 and only the fifth time overall there have been four former winners in the draw. Not since 1997 have the world’s Top 8-ranked players competed in the season-ending Championships. It is also the first time since 2002 that all the year’s Grand Slam champions are present at the season-ending Championships (Mauresmo – Australian Open/Wimbledon; Henin-Hardenne – Roland Garros; Sharapova – US Open).

The round robin stage of the Sony Ericsson Championships will be conducted over four days between Tuesday and Friday, with each player meeting the other three women in their Group (with one day’s rest). The Top 2 performers in each Group advance to Saturday’s semifinals (the No.1 performer in each Group taking on No.2), with the final scheduled for Sunday (not before 16.00hrs).

Unlike the singles event, the doubles title will be decided in a straight knockout format; the Top 4 teams compete in the semifinals on Saturday, with the final on Sunday at 13.00hrs. The doubles draw will be conducted on Thursday.

The Sony Ericsson Championships will gather the Top 8 singles players and Top 4 doubles teams from the regular 2006 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour season as they battle it out for the season-ending titles and a share of the $3-million prize purse. The Sony Ericsson Championships will be played for the first time at Madrid Arena, November 7-12, 2006.

Yellow Group: Amélie Mauresmo (FRA) vs. Nadia Petrova (RUS) - Mauresmo leads 5-2

Defending champion Mauresmo can't afford a letdown in her first match here, as Sharapova and Henin-Hardenne will gladly take any mishap to remove her from the top. Mauresmo, who claimed her first two Grand Slam trophies this year (Australian Open, Wimbledon), runs into a refueled Petrova. The Russian not only won five Sony Ericsson WTA Tour titles this year, she is also riding a wave of confidence that helped her capture Stuttgart and catapulted her to the Moscow and Linz final. However, Mauresmo might have a slight psychological edge in this match-up, as she won two of their three meetings this year, including a straight-set rout in Miami.

Red Group: Maria Sharapova (RUS) vs. Elena Dementieva (RUS) - Sharapova leads 5-2

Russian teen Sharapova knows she can't waste much time on her quest to regain the top spot. The new US Open champion has to reach the final to have a shot at No.1. She will combine power and unbridled determination to get past countrywoman Dementieva. Sharapova enters this match-up as the clear favorite. She is on an eight-match winning streak and has won four of the last five encounters. But Dementieva had the upper hand a few months ago at Los Angeles where she claimed her second Tour singles title of the year.

Yellow Group: Justine Henin-Hardenne (BEL) vs. Martina Hingis (SUI) - Hingis leads 2-1

Even though world No.3 Henin-Hardenne is technically in the best position to finish No.1 - she has no points to defend here - the Belgian is lacking match experience. A right knee injury, suffered in the deciding Fed Cup doubles rubber against Italy, has kept her out of Tour competition since September. Two-time Sony Ericsson Championship winner Hingis enters this match-up in better form. The Swiss comeback queen collected her second Tour singles title of the year last month at Kolkata and reached the Zurich quarterfinals.

The Sony Ericsson Championships gather the Top 8 singles players and Top 4 doubles teams from the regular 2006 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour season as they battle it out for the season-ending titles and a share of the $3-million prize purse.'

First Day Complete


MADRID, Spain - Everything worked in Maria Sharapova's favor on Tuesday, as the first three round robin matches kicked off at the Sony Ericsson Championships at Madrid Arena.

While the 2004 champion started her quest for the No.1 ranking with a 61 64 victory over Elena Dementieva, her direct competitors for the top spot didn't get off to such a hot start. World No.1 Amélie Mauremso never found her rhythm in the first match of the day, losing 62 62, to Nadia Petrova. No.3 Justine Henin-Hardenne held a commanding 62 5-2 lead over Martina Hingis but had to labor almost two hours before finishing her 62 67(5) 61 victory.

"Martina started to play her game and had nothing to lose at that time," Henin-Hardenne said about Hingis' second set comeback. "I lost my focus a little bit. The key was for me to step into the court and take the ball early."

No.2 Sharapova can finish the year on top if she wins this week and Henin-Hardenne fails to reach the final. Dementieva made Sharapova's life relatively easy on Tuesday, by committing 15 double faults, eight in the second set.
Mauresmo also wasn't in top form. Her body language indicated that she's under a lot of pressure to keep her top spot. Not only does she have to defend her title, Henin-Hardenne must finish last in their yellow group and Sharapova must miss the final. A right shoulder injury that kept her away from Sony Ericsson WTA Tour competition for over a month was also a contributing factor.

"There was no pain in my shoulder," she said. "I just feel a little behind and made stupid mistakes. This is the kind of match I play after missing competitions."

Petrova put on a forceful display of ground strokes and serves, rushing to leads of 3-0 and 4-1. Many of her furious, two-fisted backhands were too much to handle for the world No.1, who framed one up high into the stands, falling behind 5-2. Before the third deuce of the ensuing game, Petrova changed her racket and ripped a breathtaking backhand passing shot past Mauresmo, who was looking to finish the point with an easy forehand volley. The Frenchwoman then committed a backhand error to give Petrova the first set.

In the second set, Petrova stuck to her game plan of attacking Mauresmo's one-handed backhand and it worked in her favor. After managing a crucial break to go up 3-1, she pumped her fist three times, knowing she had all the momentum on her side. Mauresmo, who only started hitting again last Monday, was forced into making error after error. At 30-all, she netted a second service return to give Petrova game point and the Russian capitalized relentlessly and secured a 4-1 lead on a blistering ace.

Petrova served for the match but wasted three match points and gave away the game. Mauresmo then held a 40-0 lead on her own serve but couldn't fight her way back into the match. She missed an easy forehand volley to give her opponent another match point. A Petrova backhand was called out but she won the challenge and iced the victory on a forehand winner.

No.1 Ranking on the Line in Semis


MADRID, Spain - The Robin Robin phase is over. No more second chances. And on Saturday, Justine Henin-Hardenne and Maria Sharapova will fight for the No.1 ranking in the semifinals at the $3-million Sony Ericsson Championships.

The semifinal spots and top two player standings and were determined on Friday with four current or former world No.1 players left standing.

Amelie Mauresmo and Justine Henin-Hardenne placed Nos. 1 and 2 respectively in the Yellow Group, and in the Red Group, Maria Sharapova placed ahead of Kim Clijsters, setting up a match against Henin-Hardenne for the top Sony Ericsson WTA Tour ranking.

Whoever wins between Henin-Hardenne and Sharapova will finish the year as the world No.1, taking over the top spot from Mauresmo, who still has a chance to defend her Championships title.

After a 62 62 loss to Nadia Petrova in her opening match on Tuesday, Mauresmo rebounded with back-to-back three-set wins - first over Martina Hingis on Thursday, followed by a gutsy 46 76(3) 62 win over Justine Henin-Hardenne on Friday. Her win over Henin-Hardenne secured her spot in the semis and placed her first in her group.

"I'm just very, very happy and very proud about (coming back from Tuesday's loss)," Mauresmo said. "The next day, I went back on the court and let the frustration out and also came back yesterday and today from one set down to finally get the win."

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."

Justine Wins Championships


MADRID, Spain - Eight women arrived in Madrid in a fight for season-ending honor. Justine Henin-Hardenne was arguably the least-prepared, having missed the entire fall Sony Ericsson WTA Tour season with a right knee injury; but she stayed true to her reputation as one of the grittiest competitors in the history of the game and rose above the all-star field, clinching her return to No.1 with a semifinal triumph over Maria Sharapova on Saturday, then capturing her first Sony Ericsson Championships title with a resonant 64 63 victory over Amélie Mauresmo on Sunday.

Henin-Hardenne was by and large the aggressor against Mauresmo, crushing her big groundstrokes and serves into the corners and, in particular, dominating play on her opponent's serve. She won over half the points on the Frenchwoman's delivery and had break points in eight of those 10 games, eventually converting on six. A double fault on match point handed the Belgian her first season-ending title.

"I was close to winning our match two days ago, but it wasn't good enough at the end of the second set," said Henin-Hardenne, who lost 46 76(3) 62 to Mauresmo in the round robin. "So from the first point to the end today I decided to put more pressure. I played amazing at the end. I had a lot of motivation and that's what I missed in my last match against Amélie on Friday. So that was the difference."