Henin-Hardenne stuns Sharapova

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.

Henin-Hardenne beat Sharapova for the third time in four meetings this year -- the Belgian's only loss coming in the U.S. Open final.

Henin-Hardenne, who had seven aces, had three service breaks in the first set while forcing Sharapova into 14 unforced errors. Henin-Hardenne converted her fourth break point in the eighth game of the second set to take a 5-3 lead when Sharapova hit a forehand into the net.

Sharapova rallied with her first break of the second set when Henin-Hardenne sent a forehand into the net. Both players then held serve to force the tiebreaker.

The Russian saved one match point at 6-4 in the tiebreaker, but Henin-Hardenne converted on her second try to give Sharapova only her second loss in 11 tiebreakers this year.

"I just didn't feel like myself today," Sharapova said. "I felt a little sluggish. I didn't feel like I was concentrating.

"You hope to find a way to break through that, and I felt like I was getting there at the end of the match, but I just couldn't put two or three good points together."

Sharapova finished the season with a career-high five titles, including her second Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open.

"I've had an amazing year, a very successful year, and I'll finish the highest I have in my career," Sharapova said. "You always think about what went wrong and what could have gone better, but I'm happy with the way I played and just look forward to what I can improve for next year."