MADRID: Justine Henin's inspired season reached a suitable climax when she successfully defended her title at the tour-ending event, the WTA Championships, her victory over Maria Sharapova completing a quartet of other notable achievements.
Tired, bothered by a bad foot, and suffering from the labours of an intense season against a relatively fresh opponent, Henin's 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 win over the comeback Russian took fully three hours and 25 minutes, the longest final since the event switched to the best of three sets in 1999.