Sharapova aims high

MADRID – Maria Sharapova and Justine Henin-Hardenne aim to depose Amelie Mauresmo as world number one at the WTA Championships but reaching the end of the season in one piece is also high on their wish lists.

Mauresmo, nursing an injured shoulder, was forced to pull out of her last tournament in Zurich and hasn’t played since. French Open champion Henin-Hardenne hasn’t been seen with a racquet in her hand since the US Open.All of which led Sharapova, the word number two and US Open winner, to back calls for wide-ranging changes to the calendar in the hope of preserving players’ limbs as well as the integrity of the sport.”I feel strongly that the tennis season needs to be made shorter, with more breaks for players to rest in order to be in peak condition when we do play,” said Sharapova, who fell to the curse herself in Moscow last month when a hip injury forced her to withdraw.A WTA Tour report has shown that top 10 player withdrawals from the high-profile tournaments has increased by 72 percent in the last five years.Despite the gloom, French star Mauresmo, with the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles under her belt, believes her enforced rest since Zurich could work to her advantage.The eight-woman field, who begin the tournament on Tuesday, is made up of Mauresmo, 2004 champion Sharapova, Henin-Hardenne as well as 2002 and 2003 winner Kim Clijsters, Martina Hingis, Elena Dementieva, Nadia Petrova and Svetlana Kuznetsova.Mauresmo is the defending champion having beaten compatriot Mary Pierce in a marathon final in Los Angeles.Five-time Grand Slam winner Hingis, who first played the event in 1996, has qualified for the end-of-season tournament for the eighth time in her career but first since leaving the Tour in 2002 due to foot and ankle injuries.After having the best season of her career in 2005, Clijsters has had to contend with another injury to her left wrist sustained in Montreal two months ago, which kept her off the Tour until the tournament in Hasselt last week.Mauresmo faces a tough battle to hang on to her number one spot.She will have to successfully defend her title and have Henin-Hardenne finish fourth in her round-robin group.On top of that, Sharapova has to lose in the semifinals or earlier.Yellow Group Amélie Mauresmo (FRA x1), Justine Henin-Hardenne (BEL x3), Nadia Petrova (RUS x5), Martina Hingis (SUI x7) Red Group Maria Sharapova (RUS x2), Kim Clijsters (BEL x6), Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUSx 4), Elena Dementieva (RUS x8) (Round-robin format, first two in each group qualify for the semi-finals.)Nampa-AFPFrench Open champion Henin-Hardenne hasn’t been seen with a racquet in her hand since the US Open.All of which led Sharapova, the word number two and US Open winner, to back calls for wide-ranging changes to the calendar in the hope of preserving players’ limbs as well as the integrity of the sport.”I feel strongly that the tennis season needs to be made shorter, with more breaks for players to rest in order to be in peak condition when we do play,” said Sharapova, who fell to the curse herself in Moscow last month when a hip injury forced her to withdraw.A WTA Tour report has shown that top 10 player withdrawals from the high-profile tournaments has increased by 72 percent in the last five years.Despite the gloom, French star Mauresmo, with the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles under her belt, believes her enforced rest since Zurich could work to her advantage.The eight-woman field, who begin the tournament on Tuesday, is made up of Mauresmo, 2004 champion Sharapova, Henin-Hardenne as well as 2002 and 2003 winner Kim Clijsters, Martina Hingis, Elena Dementieva, Nadia Petrova and Svetlana Kuznetsova.Mauresmo is the defending champion having beaten compatriot Mary Pierce in a marathon final in Los Angeles.Five-time Grand Slam winner Hingis, who first played the event in 1996, has qualified for the end-of-season tournament for the eighth time in her career but first since leaving the Tour in 2002 due to foot and ankle injuries.After having the best season of her career in 2005, Clijsters has had to contend with another injury to her left wrist sustained in Montreal two months ago, which kept her off the Tour until the tournament in Hasselt last week.Mauresmo faces a tough battle to hang on to her number one spot.She will have to successfully defend her title and have Henin-Hardenne finish fourth in her round-robin group.On top of that, Sharapova has to lose in the semifinals or earlier.Yellow Group Amélie Mauresmo (FRA x1), Justine Henin-Hardenne (BEL x3), Nadia Petrova (RUS x5), Martina Hingis (SUI x7) Red Group Maria Sharapova (RUS x2), Kim Clijsters (BEL x6), Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUSx 4), Elena Dementieva (RUS x8) (Round-robin format, first two in each group qualify for the semi-finals.) Nampa-AFP