Sharapova wins second major title

NEW YORK -- Maria Sharapova insists she's more about substance than style, and now she has a second Grand Slam title to prove it.

Her strokes as piercing as her shrieks by the end, the third-seeded Sharapova beat No. 2 Justine Henin-Hardenne 6-4, 6-4 Saturday night to win the U.S. Open final.

"This is an amazing honor," Sharapova said. "I'm so happy that it's here in New York, my favorite city in the world, in front of the best fans."

Sharapova burst onto the tennis -- and endorsement -- scene by winning Wimbledon in 2004 at age 17. She'd come close to adding more major championships since but went 0-5 in Slam semifinals -- until this tournament.

When Henin-Hardenne was a finalist at all four majors this year.

Henin-Hardenne, a five-time major champion, would have returned to No. 1 in the rankings with a victory. By facing only one break point, and overcoming an early lapse, Sharapova wound up dominating a player with more impressive accomplishments.

Henin-Hardenne entered the night leading the tour in matches won (54), Grand Slam matches won (25) and tournament titles (five) this season.

"She's been a real fighter tonight," said the Belgian, who won the 2003 Open. "The better player won tonight."

In the men's final today, No. 1 Roger Federer will be bidding for his ninth career Grand Slam title when he takes on No. 9 Andy Roddick, aiming for his second.

Roddick picked up the pace despite Mikhail Youzhny's best efforts, winning Saturday's semifinal 6-7 (5), 6-0, 7-6 (3), 6-3 and drawing several emphatic claps from coach Jimmy Connors.

"I'm going to go enjoy this for about five minutes," said Roddick, the 2003 champion. "I'm going to eat and try to get some sleep and come out and try to win a U.S. Open tomorrow."

Roddick, 18-1 in matches with Connors as his coach, had just 18 unforced errors to Youzhny's 48.

Hours earlier, Federer charged into his sixth straight Grand Slam final, overwhelming Nikolay Davydenko 6-1, 7-5, 6-4.

After that match, the two-time defending Open champion did not seem overly concerned about his next opponent, no matter who it was.

"It's going to be tough, even though I have great records against both of them," Federer said.

Federer is 10-1 vs. Roddick and 7-0 vs. Youzhny.