Henin-Hardenne finishes No. 1 again

Justine Henin-Hardenne will finish the year as the top-ranked player in women’s tennis after beating Maria Sharapova, 6-2, 7-5 (5), on Saturday in the semifinals of the WTA Championships at Madrid.

Henin-Hardenne will face defending champion Amelie Mauresmo in today’s final. Mauresmo advanced with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory over two-time winner Kim Clijsters.

The victory clinched Henin-Hardenne’s second year-end No. 1 ranking. Mauresmo will finish her 34 consecutive weeks as No. 1 at the end of the tournament.

Henin-Hardenne won the French Open and was the runner-up at the three other Grand Slam tournaments this year -- the first woman since Martina Hingis in 1997 to reach all four major finals. She lost to Mauresmo at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

Five-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams hopes to return from a left wrist injury in time for the Australian Open.

“The wrist is OK, and even if it wasn’t or is [100%], the year is over and it’s all about training for next year,” Williams said at the WTA Championships. “I think January and Melbourne is a good date” to return.

WINTER SPORTS

Lysacek victorious

at Cup of China

American Evan Lysacek staged another rally with his “Carmen” program to take the men’s event at the Cup of China at Nanjing.

Lysacek climbed from second after the short program to score a near 21-point win over Sergei Davydov. Emanuel Sandhu was third.

Hungarian Julia Sebestyen edged Emily Hughes to win the women’s title.

Hughes, sister of 2002 Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hughes, led after Thursday’s short program and appeared to be ready to win. But mistakes caused her to be downgraded on some jumps and left her third in the free skate. Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin won the free dance.

Marlies Schild led an Austrian sweep in the women’s World Cup season opener in Levi, Finland, winning a slalom by 0.80 seconds.

Schild, who led by 0.60 after the first run, had a two-run total of 1 minute 45.66 seconds.

Nicole Hosp was second and third went to Kathrin Zettel. The top American was Resi Stiegler, who finished 10th.

Sven Kramer of the Netherlands won the men’s 5,000-meter race at the season-opening World Cup speedskating event in Heerenveen, Netherlands.

Kramer raced head-to-head with Eskil Ervik of Norway in front of a raucous capacity crowd at Thialf Stadium. Kramer finished in 6 minutes 16.64 seconds, nearly 4 seconds ahead of Ervik.

Kim St. Pierre made 26 saves to help Canada win its ninth Four Nations Cup title with a 5-2 victory over the United States at Kitchener, Ontario.

The Olympic champions outscored the opposition, 22-3.

Natalie Darwitz and Kristin King scored for the United States.

SOCCER

MLS approves

the ‘Beckham Rule’

Major League Soccer teams will be allowed to sign high-profile players such as David Beckham, Ronaldo or Luis Figo after club owners approved a change to their salary-cap regulations.

The “Beckham Rule” will give MLS teams the authority to acquire players outside the $2 million-a-team salary cap, which will be “significantly” increased to accommodate the new policy, MLS Deputy Commissioner Ivan Gazidis said.

MLS, which for 11 years has paid all players out of a central fund under its “single-entity” structure, will be responsible for up to $400,000 of the player’s salary, but the rest will paid for by the team. Each team initially will receive one “designated player” roster slot, which can be traded among teams. No team, however, will be allowed more than two designated players.

New England Revolution midfielder Clint Dempsey said today’s game against the Houston Dynamo for the MLS Cup could be his last with the team.

“I want to move on to Europe and try myself,” said Dempsey, who is questionable to start because of an ankle sprain. “I got some interest, got a little bit of buzz during the World Cup, and that’s always been my goal. It’s looking good, but there a lot of things that still have to happen.”

MISCELLANY

Report: Mets’ Acta

to be Nationals manager

New York Mets third-base coach Manny Acta is expected to be hired by the Washington Nationals as their new manager, a baseball official told the Associated Press.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the Nationals hadn’t made an announcement, said he had been told that Acta is getting the job.

Justin Wilson took the pole position for the Champ Car season finale in Mexico City, edging Sebastien Bourdais by less than two-tenths of a second.

Wilson turned a lap at 117.763 mph, completing the 2.786-mile Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez course in 1 minute 24.801 seconds. Bourdais, who has already won the season title, followed in 1:24.986.