World number one Justine Henin battled back from a set down to overcome Maria Sharapova 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 and retain her WTA Championships title in an epic struggle at the Madrid Arena on Sunday.
Justine Henin remained on course for a successful defence of her WTA Championships crown when she secured her place in the final with a spectacular win over Ana Ivanovic.
Maria Sharapova looked back to her best as she overwhelmed Ana Ivanovic 6-1, 6-2 in her final round-robin match at the WTA Championships to set up a semi-final showdown with Russian compatriot Anna Chakvetadze.
The world number one began the defence of her WTA Championships singles title with a 6-1, 7-6 win over Russian Anna Chakvetadze.
She will play unseeded American Serena Williams in the Australian Open final.
The Pole said she wanted to do better this time and felt the pressure.
Svetlana Kuznetsova questioned Siberian-born player's motives for coming to Moscow for the Fed Cup final despite being injured.
Russia are strongly favoured to capture a third Fed Cup title in four years when they take on holders Italy in the Moscow final this weekend.
'At the end of the day, athletes are humans just like the rest of us.'
Andy Roddick blasted 19 aces to defeat Sweden's Thomas Johansson 6-2, 6-2, 6-0 in the third round.
Maria Sharapova's U.S. Open title defence ended in tatters on Saturday when she was stunned 6-4 1-6 6-2 by Polish teenager Agnieszka Radwanska in the third round.
World number one Roger Federer faces a lofty challenge in his bid for a fourth straight U.S. Open title when he takes on American wildcard John Isner in the third round on Saturday.
Martina Hingis beat top seed Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-1 to reach the final of the Pan Pacific Open
The most notable upset of the day had ninth seed Daniela Hantuchova sent packing by Julia Vakulenko 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.
The Russian has swapped last year's glamorous Audrey Hepburn look for a flaming red dress inspired by New York City.
A Henin and Jankovic final may lack the pizzazz of a Maria Sharapova-Serena Williams showdown but their records this season are second to none, with the battling Belgian claiming five titles and the Serbian four.
World number one Simona Halep has twice been left heartbroken in her quest for Grand Slam glory in Paris. Yet even now, standing just two wins away from redemption, she says she feels no pressure.
Former world number one and 2004 Wimbledon champion Sharapova saved three set points in the second set as Harkleroad tried to force a deciding set.
Maria Sharapova pulled out before her Los Angeles Classic semi-final against Nadia Petrova with a strain in her lower left leg.
Second seed Jelena Jankovic outlasted Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 6-7, 6-2 to reach the semi-finals of the Los Angeles Classic on Friday.
The 20-year-old Hyderabadi maintained her doubles ranking of 26.
Maria Sharapova was feeling confident about her US Open defence after winning the San Diego Classic.
The Indian ace beat Russia's Dinara Safina 6-1, 6-2 in the third round in San Diego.
The Russian beat unseeded Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia in the semi-finals of the Zurich Open.
The Belgian extinguished hopes of an all-Williams final by storming into the last four with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Serena.
Maria Sharapova squeezed in a victory between downpours at Wimbledon on Saturday, beating Ai Sugiyama of Japan 6-3 6-3 to book her place in the fourth round.
Jelena Jankovic finally ended a losing run against Maria Sharapova to claim her first grasscourt title.
The Russian won back-to-back matches on Saturday to reach the semi-finals of the Birmingham Classic.
The Indian ace was shown the door by the eighth seeded Italian in the second round of the Birmingham DFS Classic.
The loss of the top two seeds was another huge blow to the Advanta Championships which has already seen the withdrawal of Venus and Serena Williams.
A competitive streak as hard as a diamond gave the 20-year-old the strength to stage a great escape at the French Open.
Maria Sharapova was given a brief scare on her way to a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Russian Alla Kudryavtseva in the French Open third round.
Maria Sharapova showed there was no room for sentiment on Wednesday when she led a trio of Russian seeds into the second round of the French Open.
The Russian won the Istanbul Cup after her opponent Aravane Rezai retired hurt.
Amelie Mauresmo received an easy passage into the final of the Advanta Championships in Philadelphia on Saturday when Maria Sharapova was forced out of the event with a sore shoulder.
The duo could face each other at the quarter-final stage.
Fourth-seeded Venus Williams outpowered Bulgarian Tatiana Poutchek 6-1 6-2 to move into the second round of the Istanbul Cup on Tuesday.
