Defending champion Mauresmo through to semis in Madrid

Defending champion Amelie Mauresmo yesterday battled her way back from a set down to defeat the already qualified Justine Henin-Hardenne 4-6 7-6 6-2 and book her place in the semi-finals of the WTA championships in Madrid.

The Frenchwoman now tops the yellow group ahead of Henin-Hardenne and the two players will progress to the last four while former world number one Martina Hingis has been eliminated.

The win will help compensate Mauresmo for the disappointment of losing her no.1 spot which will be taken by either Henin-Hardenne or Maria Sharapova when the year-end rankings are released next week.

French Open champion Henin-Hardenne, who returned to action this week after two months on the sidelines because of a calf injury sustained in the final of the Fed Cup, will clinch the number one spot if she reaches tomorrow's final.

Mauresmo beat Henin-Hardenne in the Wimbledon final and the Australian Open and once again she got the better of the Belgian.

The pair exchanged breaks early in the opening set before Henin-Hardenne gained the upperhand when she broke the Mauresmo serve with the help of a net cord before taking the set 6-4.

The second set saw Mauresmo squaring the match when she took a tie-break 7-3. Henin started to flag in the third set, as Mauresmo made just one unforced error in the whole set to wrap up the set 6-2.

Other result: Sharapova bt Kuz-netsova 6-1 6-4.