Mauresmo through to final as Sharapova withdraws

NEW YORK: Title holder and top seed 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 Wimbledon champion and third-seeded Sharapova injured her shoulder two weeks ago at the Swisscom Challenge in Zurich and aggravated it during her quarter-final victory over Australia's Alicia Molik on Friday.