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| Sharapova marches past Clijsters | Sharapova marches past Clijsters |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| World number two Maria Sharapova won her 18th match in a row in beating Kim Clijsters 6-4 6-4 in the Red Group at the WTA Championships in Madrid. | World number two Maria Sharapova won her 18th match in a row in beating Kim Clijsters 6-4 6-4 in the Red Group at the WTA Championships in Madrid. |
| Sharapova was simply too powerful for Clijsters, who had made a winning return to action in Belgium last week after two months out with injury. | Sharapova was simply too powerful for Clijsters, who had made a winning return to action in Belgium last week after two months out with injury. |
| US Open champion Sharapova, who could finish the season as world number one, now has one foot in the semi-finals. | US Open champion Sharapova, who could finish the season as world number one, now has one foot in the semi-finals. |
| The Russian 19-year-old has not lost a match since August. | The Russian 19-year-old has not lost a match since August. |
| In Wednesday's other Red Group match, world number four Svetlana Kuznetsova began her Madrid campaign with a 7-5 6-3 win over fellow Russian Elena Dementieva.After a titanic struggle in the first set, lasting 70 minutes, Kuznetsova claimed it at the third time of asking. | |
| But one break in the second set proved enough for the former US Open champion to earn victory. | But one break in the second set proved enough for the former US Open champion to earn victory. |
| However, she said afterwards that there was room for improvement in her game. | However, she said afterwards that there was room for improvement in her game. |
| "I had a lot of chances that I didn't close out in the first set," the 21-year-old said. "I was losing my concentration, but that's normal after a long season." | |
| Dementieva, who lost her opening match to Maria Sharapova on Tuesday, is now almost certain to be eliminated. | Dementieva, who lost her opening match to Maria Sharapova on Tuesday, is now almost certain to be eliminated. |
| The world number eight has now lost her last eight matches at the season-ending tournament, having been beaten in all three of her round-robin matches in both 2004 and 2005. | The world number eight has now lost her last eight matches at the season-ending tournament, having been beaten in all three of her round-robin matches in both 2004 and 2005. |
| Yellow Group:(1) Amélie Mauresmo (Fra), (3) Justine Henin-Hardenne (Bel), (5) Nadia Petrova (Rus), (7) Martina Hingis (Swi) | Yellow Group:(1) Amélie Mauresmo (Fra), (3) Justine Henin-Hardenne (Bel), (5) Nadia Petrova (Rus), (7) Martina Hingis (Swi) |
| Red Group:(2) Maria Sharapova (Rus), (6) Kim Clijsters (Bel), (4) Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus), (8) Elena Dementieva (Rus) | Red Group:(2) Maria Sharapova (Rus), (6) Kim Clijsters (Bel), (4) Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus), (8) Elena Dementieva (Rus) |