Henin-Hardenne wins first WTA Championships title - 網球

Henin-Hardenne wins first WTA Championships title
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/news/story?id=2659106

MADRID, Spain -- Justine Henin-Hardenne won her first WTA Championships title
Sunday, beating Amelie Mauresmo 6-4, 6-3 a day after clinching the
season-ending No. 1 ranking for the second time.

Mauresmo double-faulted on match point -- her fourth double-fault of the day
-- to give Henin-Hardenne her sixth title of the year. The Belgian defeated
Mauresmo in a final for the first time this season. Mauresmo stopped
Henin-Hardenne in the title match of both the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

Henin-Hardenne had double-break chances on nine of Mauresmo's 10 service
games on the hard indoor court. She got her second of the first set in the
ninth game with a backhand return down the line.

"It's not my best surface but I proved I could play here and I played well on
it," Henin-Hardenne said. "It's been an unbelievable week."

Henin-Hardenne missed nearly two months while recovering from a muscle tear
in her right knee.

"You know how hard it was in the last few weeks and I didn't expect to win
it," she said. "I played very aggressive and I really wanted this victory so
I came out only to win it. I put a lot of pressure on every point."

Henin-Hardenne is the first player since Steffi Graf in 1993 to reach all
four Grand Slams finals and the WTA Championships final in the same year, and
only the fifth ever.

The Belgian won the French Open but lost to Maria Sharapova in the U.S. Open
final. She earned $1 million for Sunday's victory while her French opponent
received $500,000.

Mauresmo will finish No. 3 when the new rankings are released Monday.
Henin-Hardenne earned the top ranking by reaching the final, and Sharapova
will be No. 2.

Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur successfully defended their doubles title,
beating Cara Black and Rennae Stubbs 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in a repeat of the last
year's final.

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press

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