Justine Henin-Hardenne claimed victory in the women's final of the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament on Saturday after defending champion Lindsey Davenport was forced to retire with a right shoulder injury.

The seventh-seeded Davenport appeared uncomfortable from the start and trailed 6-0 1-0 against the world's third-ranked player before deciding not to continue.

"I've been struggling with my shoulder throughout the week," Davenport said.

"The pain started travelling down my arm, even into my wrist."

Henin-Hardenne, who took more than a month off after losing to France's Amelie Mauresmo in the Wimbledon final, noticed that Davenport was not right from the start.

"At the beginning of the match, I could tell she was not hitting the ball as usual," said the Belgian, who claimed her fifth title of the season and 28th of her career.

"She made the right decision to stop."

Having missed much of 2006 with back problems and a concussion, Davenport's latest injury comes at a terrible time as the year's final major - the US Open - is scheduled to start on Monday.

"If I have to play Monday, then I will do everything I can to make sure I make it," Davenport said.

"I will probably just rest a lot and won't hit the ball until the warm-up before my next match."

The 1998 US Open champion, Davenport showed little fight and dropped the opening set in 22 minutes before calling for a trainer.

During an official injury time-out, she went back into the locker room, where she had a bandage placed on her right shoulder.

Despite the medical attention, the 30-year-old Davenport had a look of disappointment on her face as she lost in the first game of the second set.

She decided to retire after hitting a forehand into the net.

With only the top four seeds receiving first-round byes, Davenport had to play four matches to reach the final.

She won all of them in straight sets, even beating the top-ranked Mauresmo in the quarter-finals on Thursday.

"It's tough to play so many matches and stay healthy," a teary-eyed Davenport said.

"You want to play your best, but maybe it was just too much, too soon."