Justine Henin-Hardenne

Madrid: Justine Henin-Hardenne clinched the year-end No. 1 spot when she ended Maria Sharapova’s 19-match winning streak with a 6-2, 7-6 win over the Russian in the semis of the WTA Championship on Saturday.

The three-time French Open champion will clash with world No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo who overcame Kim Clijsters 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the second semi-final.

Clijsters had made the last four following Friday night’s 6-4, 6-0 win over Elena Dementieva.

Henin-Hardenne, who also topped the rankings in 2003, produced a wonderful display full of guile and determination to overcome the 19-year-old and secure her maiden Championship final.

The 24-year-old took the game to Sharapova — who had qualified for the semis after beating Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-4 late Friday — from the outset and forced her opponent into a series of uncharacteristic errors with her pin-point backhand and clever serves.

Sharapova, who had not dropped a set till Saturday, looked bemused as the pint-sized Belgian returned everything she could throw at her and was never able to get into her stride.