Justine Henin-Hardenne News

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP) _ Justine Henin raised a fist, shook it and punched the balmy air Thursday after reaching the Key Biscayne final for the first time by beating Anna Chakvetadze 6-2, 6-3 at the Sony Ericsson Open. The top-ranked Henin is a five-time Grand Slam champion, but until this year she had never advanced beyond the quarter-finals at Key Biscayne. The Belgian says she dislikes the island's windy ...

NEW YORK (AP) _ Justine Henin regained the No. 1 ranking on Monday and will head into this week's Sony Ericsson Open in Miami as the favourite. Russian Maria Sharapova would have stayed No. 1 if she'd reached the semifinals in defence of her Pacific Life Open title at Indian Wells last week, but the 19-year-old Russian fell in the fourth round. Henin was poised to take over after winning ...

U.S. Open champion Maria Sharapova of Russia will face French Open winner Justine Henin-Hardenne in the semifinals of the WTA Championships after beating compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-4 on Friday. Defending champion Amelie Mauresmo of France reached the semis when she downed Belgian Henin-Hardenne 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2. Her opponent on Saturday will either be former two-time winner Kim Clijsters of Belgium or Russia's Elena Dementieva in the elite, season-ending ...

Justine Henin-Hardenne might be sidelined until the tour's season-ending championships in November because of a knee injury that forced her to quit during the decisive match of the Fed Cup final. Henin-Hardenne, the French Open champion who is ranked No. 2, pulled out of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, early next month and is doubtful for the Zurich Open beginning Oct. 16. The WTA Tour Championships in ...

Justine Henin-Hardenne edged Flavia Pennetta 6-4, 7-5 Saturday to pull Belgium even with Italy 1-1 after the opening day of the Fed Cup final. Earlier, Francesca Schiavone beat Kirsten Flipkens 6-1, 6-3 to give Italy the early lead. Reverse singles and doubles are scheduled for Sunday when Henin-Hardenne, the world No. 2, opens against No. 14 Schiavone. Belgium had been heavily favoured to win the final until Kim Clijsters pulled out last month with an injured wrist. The 98th-ranked ...

Maria Sharapova insists she's more about substance than style, and now she has a second Grand Slam title to prove it. Her strokes as piercing as her shrieks by the end, the third-seeded Russian beat No. 2 Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium 6-4, 6-4 Saturday night to win the U.S. Open final. ``This is an amazing honour,'' Sharapova said. ``I'm so happy that it's here in New York, my favourite city in the world, in front of the best ...

Justine Henine-Hardenne's opponent was well on her way toward a huge upset Friday when something curious happened. Jumpy Jelena Jankovic of Serbia started arguing with the chair umpire. And from then on, it was a mismatch. Henin-Hardenne showed the steady mental and physical approach of a champion while Jankovic melted down, winning the final 10 games for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 victory that put her into the U.S. Open final. ...

Henin-Hardenne defeated American Lindsay Davenport 6-4, 6-4 in a showdown between past Open champions to set up a semifinal against No. 19 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, who won Tuesday. Henin-Hardenne needed a massage after the first set for a twinge in her back and sore rib, then dropped the first five points of the second set and wound up trailing 3-1. But the Belgian broke right back, and again to ...

The 2003 U.S. Open women's champion rolled on. The 2004 champ wasn't so lucky. Second-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne made quick work of Shahar Peer, dispatching the Israeli 6-1, 6-0 in 50 minutes in the fourth round Monday. Sixth-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova, however, lost to Jelena Jankovic 6-7 (5) 6-3, 6-2. Kuznetsova hasn't had much success at Flushing Meadows since becoming the first Russian woman to win the singles title in 2004. Last ...

Justine Henin-Hardenne won the 2003 U.S. Open for one of her five Grand Slam titles, but she isn't necessarily in love with the tournament. ``It's not my favourite one,'' the second-seeded Belgian said Monday after beating Maria Elena Camerin of Italy 6-2, 6-1 in the first round. ``It's the last Grand Slam of the season. Everyone gets a little bit tired. It's pretty busy _ I mean New York, busy ...