Henin to kick-off season-ending spectacle

World number one Justine Henin opens the defence of her Sony Ericsson Championship crown in Madrid on Tuesday against Anna Chakvetadze.

The end-of-season showdown sees the top eight performers on the WTA tour this season do battle in the Spanish capital.

The eight competitors are split into two groups of four, known as the red group and the yellow group, with the four players in each group meeting each other between Tuesday and Friday.

Serb Jelena Jankovic and fifth seed Serena Williams join Henin and Chakvetadze in the yellow group, while Russian duo Svetlana Kuznetsova and Maria Sharapova take on fourth seed Ana Ivanovic and Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia in the red group.

The top two in each pool will go through to Saturday’s semi-finals before the final on Sunday.

Belgian Henin will be in confident mood going into the tournament, having won nine titles on tour this year including the US Open and French Open.

The second game on court sees the last two players to qualify, Sharapova and Hantuchova, do battle.

That match is followed by Kuznetsova against Ivanovic, in which the fourth seed from Serbia will be making her championship debut.

Ivanovic said: “I’m delighted, at the start of the season I made this my number one goal, so to achieve it is very satisfying.

“As a professional tennis player, I train for the opportunity to play against the top players, and in Madrid we should have all of the world’s best players there.”

Williams will be looking to continue her outstanding comeback this season by lifting the title which she last won in 2001.

The American suffered a string of injuries in 2006 which coincided with a slump in form and she finished the year ranked 94th, leading to many experts writing off her chances of competing at the top level again.

Williams announced her return at the start of the year by winning the Australian Open and has been one of the most consistent performers on tour this year.

“I’m delighted and surprised to have made it to the Sony Ericsson Championships,” she said.

“When I started the year, I honestly never thought I would be in the position I am in now with a grand slam title under my belt and getting closer to playing some great tennis.

“I thought I missed my chance by not playing this summer, but I have been really excited to be playing in Europe the last few weeks and I made it sooner than I thought.”