World number five Justine Henin-Hardenne defeated third-seeded Russian Maria Sharapova in straight sets in the Dubai Open final on Saturday to capture her third title in Dubai. The 23-year-old Belgian came back from a two-game deficit in the first set as she eased to a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Sharapova, who hit 19 winners yet committed twice as many unforced errors. Both players admitted they were tired having gone through two matches on Friday to get to the final as rain showers unexpectedly hit Dubai postponing the quarter-finals to the next day. “I felt very tired at the end because I have had stomach, knee and shoulder problems this week," the fourth-seeded Belgian was quoted as saying by BBC Sport. "It was a high quality match, especially in the first set. Maria put a lot of pressure on me, but when I switched to playing down the centre and not out wide, the game turned for me." Henin-Hardenne had to overcome Francesca Schiavone in their quarter-final encounter before she ousted Svetlana Kutznetsova from the semi-finals later on Friday. Meanwhile, Sharapova had to beat Swiss star Martina Hingis and later survived a tough three-setter against Lindsay Davenport to reach her first final since Birmingham last June. "I played two difficult games yesterday," she said. "It took a lot out of me. My legs were starting to get a bit tired and I wasn't moving so well," said the Russian world number four. Henin-Hardenne, who won the Dubai trophy in 2003 and 2004, has now 25 career titles to her name including the French Open title last year.
