Maria Sharapova defeated Anna Chakvetadze 6-2, 6-2 on Saturday and she will be going to the final against Justine Henin; who defeated Ana Ivanovic 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals during the round robin tournament which features the top 8 players of the world.
If Henin wins she will become the first player to remain unbeaten after Wimbledon since Steffi Graff in 1989. A victory on Sunday's final will make Henin the first player to win 10 or more titles in a season since Martina Hingis in 1997.
"It's going to be a tough one, she's got nothing to lose and this is the last match," Henin said. "I need pressure to play well. To win the championship is my motivation and my goal."
The last time Henin and Sharapova met on a tennis match was on 2006 semifinals of the WTA's season ending tournament. During that match, Henin won 6-2, 7-5 and got the No 1 position in the world ranking.
Sharapova has beaten Henin only twice in eight different matches, the last one in the 2006 US Open Final. This is the fourth straight match Sharapova wins in a tournament after she had an injury in her shoulder that limited her to a just one single victory since August 31st.
"I just thought to myself that four weeks ago you were really doubting yourself, so to be here is really great and to be in the final is even better," said Sharapova, who can move into the top five with a win.
Henin had a though match against Ivanovic on Saturday morning. She was not that easy to beat as it was in the final of the French Open where she defeated her 6-1, 6-2. The Belgian needed long rallies to break Ivanovic six times.
On the other hand; Sharapova, who won the 2004 season-ending tournament, broke Chakvetadze twice in each set to improve to 6-0 against her. "The most import thing is that I've been able to serve without thinking about hurting my shoulder," Sharapova said. "I'm serving and playing freely and that is really important. I definitely felt a little bit off to start, especially with my rhythm in the first two games. But I came through a couple of break points and that gave me confidence," she said.
