Maria loses to Justine Henin-Hardenne

Eighth seed Justine Henin-Hardenne fought back to overpower Russia's Maria Sharapova 4-6 6-1 6-4 on Thursday and reach the Australian Open final.

The Belgian, who won in Melbourne in 2004 but missed last year through injury, ground fourth seed Sharapova down to extend an extraordinary winning streak in Australia to 20 matches, closing out their hard-fought semi-final after two hours 26 minutes.

The French Open champion served for the match in the ninth game of the decider but stumbled slightly before recovering to break Sharapova in the next game and claim the match with a blistering backhand winner down the line.

Henin-Hardenne will play either compatriot and second seed Kim Clijsters, who she beat for the 2004 title, or third seed Amelie Mauresmo in Saturday's final.