Justine Henin outlasted Maria Sharapova in a marathon final to win the WTA Tour Championship.
Epic duel ends in repeat victory for world number one
Justine Henin successfully defended her WTA Tour Championship title after beating Maria Sharapova in a marathon final in Madrid.
The French and US Open champion, who has not lost since her shock defeat to Marion Bartoli at Wimbledon, won 5-7 7-5 6-3 in a match lasting three hours and 25 minutes.
Sharapova matched the world number one for the bulk of the contest, underlining the fact that she is back to her best after a season disrupted by injury.
But in the end it was Henin's greater stamina which separated the two players.
The Belgian has been beaten only four times in 2007, but she needed to fight back from a set down in order to end the year with a 25-match winning streak.
Sharapova had to dig deep to save two break points in her first service game but was unable to repeat the feat in the second, giving Henin the first break of the match.
Breakthrough
However, the Russian world number six hit back immediately for 2-2 and the next seven games all went with serve.
Henin saved four set points in an epic 12th game, but Sharapova eventually made the break to move a set up after 71 minutes on court.
The second set went with serve until Henin finally broke the Sharapova serve in the ninth game, having missed three opportunities earlier in the set.
Once more Sharapova broke back immediately for 5-5, but she was unable to prevent Henin from claiming a third successive break and then holding to love to level the match.
The champion then earned the first break of the deciding set before saving three break points to hold for 3-1.
Yet again, though, Sharapova came fighting back, holding serve in the fifth game and then, after receiving treatment for fatigue at the change of ends, cancelling out the break to get back on serve at 3-3.
Her energy visibly draining, Sharapova slipped 0-40 down in her next service game and although she retrieved one on those points, Henin secured the crucial break at the second time of asking.
Sharapova battled to the end, saving four championship points as the ninth game stretched out into another series of deuces, but Henin won at the fifth attempt after the Russian netted a drop shot.
