Justine Henin Hardenne

That a truly great women's final has yet to unfold at the French Open for Justine Henin-Hardenne is not a concern for the 24-year-old Belgian. "I take these kind of finals every day," Henin-Hardenne said. "I don't wish for a three-set final." She wants to see a great men's final today between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, not between her and anyone else.

Justine Henin-Hardenne will finish the year as the top-ranked player in women's tennis after beating Maria Sharapova, 6-2, 7-5 (5), on Saturday in the semifinals of the WTA Championships at Madrid. Henin-Hardenne will face defending champion Amelie Mauresmo in today's final. Mauresmo advanced with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory over two-time winner Kim Clijsters. The victory clinched Henin-Hardenne's second year-end No. 1 ranking. Mauresmo will finish her 34 consecutive weeks as No.

Thursday's first Wimbledon women's semifinal was neatly played on a plain canvas and with all the emotions buried safely under the white dresses and polite smiles. Third-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne, wearing her traditional skirt and shirt and only a watch as jewelry, leaving off her wedding ring, won a tidy 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory over her Belgian compatriot, second-seeded Kim Clijsters, who wore an unadorned white dress.

Defending champion Amelie Mauresmo lost Tuesday to Nadia Petrova, 6-2, 6-2, in opening round-robin play at the WTA Championships at Madrid and U.S. Open champion Maria Sharapova defeated Elena Dementieva, 6-1, 6-4. Third-ranked Justine Henin-Hardenne defeated Martina Hingis, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-1. Mauresmo entered the tournament ranked No. 1. For her to end the year with the top ranking, the Frenchwoman needs to successfully defend her title, Henin-Hardenne must finish last in their group and No.

"Everybody's happy today but the Williams sisters." Justine Henin-Hardenne, on ending Serena and Venus Williams' mastery of women's tennis by beating Serena en route to winning the French Open.

The French Open women's final features two former champions who have overcome illness and injuries and fought their way back to top form. Thirty-year-old Mary Pierce of France will attempt to use the energy of the Roland Garros crowd to combat the clay-court expertise of 10th-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium. Henin-Hardenne, 23, champion here two years ago, is on a three-tournament, 23-match winning streak on clay.

Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium, the world's No. 1 women's tennis player and the defending singles champion of the upcoming Acura Classic, has withdrawn from the tournament because she is still recovering from a viral infection that has kept her out of action since a second-round loss at the French Open in May. Henin-Hardenne had made an early commitment to play in the Acura Classic, which begins Sunday and runs through Aug. 1 in Carlsbad.

*--* MEN Rk. Player Comment 1 ROGER FEDERER Illness, conditions and Nadal added up to quick exit in Miami. 2 ANDRE AGASSI How novel. Not just interested in his legacy but game's health. 3 TIM HENMAN Three straight Masters Series finals was too much to ask. 4 ANDY RODDICK Highlights of 2004: one title, two semifinals. 5 GUILLERMO CORIA Wins battle of Argentine bragging rights, beating Chela in three sets. 6 LLEYTON HEWITT Recent losses are to Chela and Pavel, not Agassi and Roddick.

Amidst the drone of backhands and forehands, great tennis players find their moments. And when they do, as Justine Henin-Hardenne did Thursday in a women's quarterfinal at the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, it can be both fleeting and revealing. Henin-Hardenne, the Belgian who currently has a stranglehold on the No. 1 ranking in the world, made her way into the semifinals, opposite Anastasia Myskina of Russia. She did so by beating another Russian, 18-year-old Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-4, 7-5.

For Nathalie Dechy, the proverbial window of opportunity opened in the second set against Lindsay Davenport, giving the Frenchwoman three opportunities to get into a third set in the semifinals of the Pacific Life Open on Friday. For Anastasia Myskina of Russia, the window was smaller. She broke top-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium in the opening game of their semifinal. In the next game, Henin-Hardenne broke back at love. Window closed. Watch your fingers.

Thursday's first Wimbledon women's semifinal was neatly played on a plain canvas and with all the emotions buried safely under the white dresses and polite smiles. Third-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne, wearing her traditional skirt and shirt and only a watch as jewelry, leaving off her wedding ring, won a tidy 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory over her Belgian compatriot, second-seeded Kim Clijsters, who wore an unadorned white dress.

That a truly great women's final has yet to unfold at the French Open for Justine Henin-Hardenne is not a concern for the 24-year-old Belgian. "I take these kind of finals every day," Henin-Hardenne said. "I don't wish for a three-set final." She wants to see a great men's final today between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, not between her and anyone else.

Justine Henin-Hardenne, the top-seeded woman at the Pacific Life Open tennis tournament, waltzed through one of those early-round matches Monday that receives little attention and deserves even less. Her 6-0, 6-0 victory over Aiko Nakamura of Japan took 56 minutes and, by the time it ended, had nearly emptied the 16,100-seat Indian Wells Garden. It wasn't Henin-Hardenne's fault that her opponent couldn't play.

Pete Sampras' throwing up on the court at the U.S. Open, and going on to beat Alex Corretja, is burned deep into tennis fans' memories. There was Andre Agassi hobbling through the final two sets of an agonizing five-set loss to Jarkko Nieminen last year at the French Open, barely able to move because of an injured back, which would keep him out of Wimbledon.

Old news: Justine Henin-Hardenne beat Lindsay Davenport at the Australian Open, doing so for the third time in the last four years. New news: Davenport, who will turn 30 in June, is leaving a Grand Slam event feeling confident that she will be back for another shot next year. Usually, these departures are tinged with doubts about her future in the game, especially considering her drought at the majors has hit six years. Not so, this time.

The French Open could almost serve as a family album for Justine Henin-Hardenne, the ideal way to record snapshot memories and trace her remarkable development. She's morphed from a slight, solemn teenager who fell apart serving for the match in the third set in the second round against Lindsay Davenport in 1999 to a strong, self-possessed woman who won her second French Open and fourth Grand Slam singles title on Saturday.

Justine Henin-Hardenne looked pale and frail on the medical training table in the early morning hours at the U.S. Open Saturday. The blankets kept her legs warm, and intravenous fluids were taking care of her dehydration after serious cramping. By Saturday night, that arm was holding a shiny trophy after the legs had carried the second-seeded Henin-Hardenne to a 7-5, 6-1 victory over No. 1 Kim Clijsters in the first all-Belgian final at the U.S. Open.

Not long after Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium hit a service winner on match point and Roger Federer of Switzerland dropped to his knees in victory at the Australian Open, the spin cycle was whirring, putting their accomplishments into context and looking ahead to new possibilities. For Federer, the mammoth challenge -- one he called "very difficult" in his understated way -- could be the pursuit of a calendar Grand Slam.

The French Open women's final features two former champions who have overcome illness and injuries and fought their way back to top form. Thirty-year-old Mary Pierce of France will attempt to use the energy of the Roland Garros crowd to combat the clay-court expertise of 10th-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium. Henin-Hardenne, 23, champion here two years ago, is on a three-tournament, 23-match winning streak on clay.