Henin-Hardenne Wins Dubai Title

Justine Henin-Hardenne defeated Maria Sharapova, 7-5, 6-2, Saturday to win the Dubai Open, showing no signs of the shoulder injury that plagued her in 2005.

Henin-Hardenne, twice a champion in this event and unbeaten in Dubai in 12 consecutive matches, won for the second time this year.

“I am very happy with the way I played this week,” she said. “It was a tough week with all the rain and us having to play two matches yesterday, but my body held up.”

Henin-Hardenne, seeded fourth, has won all four of her matches with Sharapova since losing their first in Miami last year. This time, Henin-Hardenne mixed powerful forehands with backhand winners.

“I played a good match, but I guess I was a little tired from yesterday,” Sharapova said. “But I am happy with the way the season is shaping up and I am looking forward to playing her again.”

Sharapova, seeded third, missed two break opportunities but converted the third to go up, 5-3.

Henin-Hardenne fought back, and at 5-5 Sharapova made four consecutive unforced errors. That gave the break to Henin-Hardenne, who then served out for the set.

“Maria put a lot of pressure on my serve in the first half of the match,” Henin-Hardenne said.

“I then decided to stand one step up and hit more toward the center of the court and into her body. That cut down her angles a bit.”

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Tommy Haas reached his second consecutive title match, defeating qualifier Julien Benneteau, 6-3, 6-1, in the semifinals of the Regions Morgan Keegan championships at Memphis, Tenn.

Haas, who won two weeks ago at Delray Beach, Fla., will play for the title today against Robin Soderling, a 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (5) winner over Kristof Vliegen.

“Any time you’re going to be in a final, it’s a great accomplishment already. It’s much sweeter to walk away from here as a winner,” Haas said.

“This was the first tournament I won on tour in 1999, and it would be nice to win it again.”

Benneteau was only hours removed from his three-set tiebreaker upset of top-seeded Andy Roddick and playing his sixth match in eight days.

Benneteau, ranked No. 122, tried to rally with the kind of shots that helped him upset Roddick. He fought off three break points early to hold serve. But Haas broke Benneteau to go up, 4-2, and served out. Haas broke Benneteau to start the second, the first of three breaks in the set.

Soderling, who will be aiming for his third title, struggled with his serve to reach his fifth career final.

“I definitely need some rest. This was a tough one. I can already feel it,” Soderling said after the 2-hour, 20-minute match.

In the women’s event, Sofia Arvidsson became the WTA’s fourth first-time winner on tour, beating Marta Domachowska, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3, in the Cellular South Cup.

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Sixth-seeded Radek Stepanek upset second-seeded Nikolay Davydenko, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, to reach the final of the ABN Amro at Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Stepanek will play Christophe Rochus, who defeated Jarkko Nieminen, 6-4, 6-4.

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Sixth-seeded Nicolas Massu won the Brazil Open at Salvador for his sixth ATP Tour title, defeating seventh-seeded Alberto Martin, 6-3, 6-4. Massu improved to 2-5 against Martin in their first match in almost two years.

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Top-seeded Flavia Pennetta beat Maria Sanchez Lorenzo, 6-1, 6-4, in the semifinals of the Copa Colsanitas at Bogota, Colombia.

The win sets up a rematch of her championship victory last year over Lourdes Dominguez Lino. The sixth-seeded Dominguez Lino beat Ludmila Cervnova, 6-1, 6-3.

HOCKEY

Flyers’ Gagne Could Be Sidelined Two Weeks

Philadelphia Flyer forward Simon Gagne could be sidelined up to two weeks because of a bone bruise in his right knee.

An MRI confirmed the injury, which he suffered while playing for Canada in the Olympics.

Gagne had to be helped off the ice after he was upended by Russia’s Darius Kasparaitis during the first period of the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Russia eliminated Canada, 2-0.

Gagne is the Flyers’ leading scorer with 37 goals and 26 assists for 63 points in 51 games.

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New York Islander forward Kevin Colley will retire after breaking his neck in a headfirst crash into the boards last month. Colley, who played only 16 games in his first NHL season, told teammates at practice that his career was over.

Colley, 27, broke the fifth cervical vertebrae but suffered no paralysis while attempting a check on Washington’s Jamie Heward on Jan. 31.

SOCCER

Chelsea Wins to Build Lead in Premier League

Chelsea defeated Portsmouth, 2-0, to extend its lead at the top of the English Premier League to 15 points over Manchester United.

The Blues recovered from Wednesday’s 2-1 Champions League loss to FC Barcelona with goals by Frank Lampard and Arjen Robben.

Meanwhile, Blackburn beat visiting Arsenal, 1-0, on Morten Gamst Pedersen’s 18th-minute goal, handing the Gunners their eighth defeat in 14 road games in the Premier League.

Blackburn, which switched places with Arsenal in the standings, has 43 points -- three fewer than fourth-place Tottenham and two more than Arsenal.

PRO FOOTBALL

New York Giant Safety Alexander to Retire

The New York Giants announced the retirement of veteran safety Brent Alexander. General Manager Ernie Accorsi made the announcement in Indianapolis at the annual NFL scouting combine.

Alexander, who will turn 35 in July, led the Giants with four interceptions and finished seventh on the team with 61 tackles. He played with Arizona, Carolina and Pittsburgh before signing with the Giants in 2004.

The Giants also released linebacker Barrett Green and offensive lineman Jason Whittle.

Green’s two seasons with the Giants were curtailed by injuries that forced him to go on injured reserve. He played in a total of 11 games, including only one last season. Whittle spent six of his seven NFL seasons with the Giants, playing guard and center and long snapper.

MISCELLANY

Former Boxing Champion Page Is on Life Support

Former World Boxing Assn. heavyweight champion Greg Page, who sustained brain damage during a 2001 fight, is on life support.

The 47-year-old boxer was in the intensive care unit at Jewish Hospital in Louisville, Ky. He has acute respiratory failure, sepsis, hypothermia and seizures.

Page was left with brain injuries from his fight five years ago against Dale Crowe. He slipped into a coma, then had a stroke during post-fight surgery. He is paralyzed on his left side and uses a wheelchair.

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A banner hanging outside Fenway Park said it all: “Thanks, Curt,” as Boston bid farewell to the man whose voice gave fans a front-row seat at events from the World Series to the Super Bowl. Curt Gowdy’s funeral procession circled the ballpark, pausing at the banner before heading to historic Trinity Church in Back Bay.

“He loved the city of Boston, he loved New England and he loved the Boston Red Sox,” Curt Gowdy Jr. said at the church. “He’s smiling right now and thanking all of you.”

Gowdy died Monday of leukemia at his winter home in Palm Beach, Fla. He was 86.

The Wyoming native had kept a home in the Boston area since 1951, when he began a 15-year run as play-by-play broadcaster for the Red Sox.

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Suzuki’s Ricky Carmichael raced to his fourth career victory at the Georgia Dome at Atlanta, beating Yamaha’s Chad Reed in the Amp’d Mobile Supercross event in front of a crowd of 70,133.

“Chad hounded me for a while out there and I was just sticking to my lines,” Carmichael said.

Honda’s Joshua Grant won the AMA Supercross Lites main event.

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Among the eight competitors who qualified for today’s Jeep King of the Mountain professional skiing and snowboarding world championships at Squaw Valley are Alpine skiers Daron Rahlves of Sugar Bowl, Calif., and Nate Holland of Squaw Valley and Joanie Anderson of South Lake Tahoe, a member of the U.S. snowboard team.

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Defending champions Mark Saina from Kenya and Lyubov Denisova from Russia are returning for the Los Angeles Marathon, scheduled for March 19.

The event will again include the Banco Popular Challenge, in which the professional women will be given a head start over the professional men, with $100,000 awarded to the first athlete to cross the finish line.

Saina passed Denisova in the 26th mile after she was awarded a 15-minute 50-second head start. He won his first major marathon in 2 hours 9 minutes 35 seconds, earning a $110,000 cash prize ($75,000 for winning the challenge, $25,000 for winning the men’s division, and a $10,000 time bonus).

Denisova won the women’s division and set the course record of 2:26:11. She took home a $35,000 cash prize.