Baghdatis, unseeded, advances to Australian Open final
(Bloomberg)
Updated: 2006-01-27 09:14

She rolled her ankle as Mauresmo broke her service to lead 3-2 in the deciding set. After getting the ankle taped by a trainer, Clijsters tried to play a point and then pulled out.

"I felt I wasn't going to be able to push off sideways on my forehand," Clijsters told reporters. ``It's very frustrating. I felt like in that third set I was getting into it."

The 22-year-old Clijsters had sealed the first set with a Mauresmo double-fault. The momentum changed as Mauresmo, who reached the 1999 final as an unseeded player, broke twice for a 4-1 lead on her way to taking the second set.

Henin-Hardenne extended her winning streak at the season- opening major to 13 matches. The 23-year-old didn't defend her title last year because of a knee injury.

In a match played under a closed roof as temperatures reached 37 degrees Celsius (98 degrees Fahrenheit), Henin- Hardenne clinched her victory with a trademark one-handed backhand winner. She last lost at Melbourne Park in the 2003 semifinals.

It was Sharapova's second straight loss in the last four in Melbourne. The 18-year-old was also beaten in the semifinals of her three previous Grand Slams.

"I know that probably tomorrow I'm gonna be seeing headlines, you know, `Maria can't get past the semis, Maria can't finish it off in the third,''' Sharapova told reporters. ``But take all that away and just look at the tennis that we both played."