Mauresmo wins first Grand Slam title

Amélie Mauresmo won her first Grand Slam title Saturday, defeating Justine Henin-Hardenne before the Belgian retired in the second set of the Australian Open final because of stomach pain. The out Mauresmo won the first set 6–1 and was leading 2–0 in the second when Henin-Hardenne walked to the net and told the chair umpire she could not continue.

It ended a frustrating seven-year wait for Mauresmo, who lost the final here to Martina Hingis in 1999 and had not reached another Grand Slam championship match since. Mauresmo had the second-longest wait for her first major title in the Open era, taking 32 Grand Slam tournaments to win a final. Jana Novotna won Wimbledon in 1998 in her 45th major.

"It's been such a long time, and yet I still don't know what to say," Mauresmo said. "All the people that still believed in me—after seven years it's a long time. Not only myself, but people who're working with me, believed me and pushed me, even when I was down. Maybe we found the way, maybe we'll try to keep going."

Henin-Hardenne held for the only time in the sixth game, when Mauresmo drilled a forehand just wide down the line. She surrendered the first set in 33 minutes on consecutive forehand errors. She was only getting 29% of her first serves in. Mauresmo broke serve and then held again to lead 2–0 in the second before Henin-Hardenne called for the trainer.

Henin-Hardenne complained of stomach pain and played only two more points before quitting the match. "I was feeling so sick, and I couldn't stay longer on the court," Henin-Hardenne said. "I'm feeling very disappointed to end the tournament this way. I'm sorry I couldn't find a little bit more. I want to say congratulations to Amélie, she has waited so long to get her first Grand Slam title."

It was the second consecutive match and third in the tournament that an opponent has retired with illness or injury against Mauresmo. Michaella Krajicek retired with heat stress in the third round, and second-seeded Kim Clijsters retired after turning her ankle early in the third set of their semifinal on Thursday.

Henin-Hardenne, who has four Grand Slam singles titles and was on a 13-match winning streak at Melbourne Park, burst into tears when she reached a courtside chair after quitting the match.

Mauresmo spoke to her at the net, then walked back on court and waved both arms to the crowd, choking back tears of emotion. "I was very in control, I didn't let the emotions end this time," said Mauresmo. "I thought this could be my day, this could be the moment for me."

Storms outside produced the only real thunder of the match. The roof was closed on Rod Laver Arena, trapping a number of birds inside, and they chirped loudly throughout the match.

Henin-Hardenne had been a slow starter in the last two rounds, dropping the first set against both Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinals and Maria Sharapova in the semis before rallying. It looked to be the same against Mauresmo as the Belgian dropped 19 of the first 24 points, committing a rash of mistakes.

Mauresmo broke for the second time, setting up break point with a let court that dribbled over the net, and Henin-Hardenne couldn't get back even though she was standing right there. Shouts of "Come on, Justine!" erupted from the crowd, but Mauresmo held to make it 5–0, fending off the only break point that she faced. Henin-Hardenne finally held in the next game to pull to 5–1, sparking a loud ovation and suggestions that she might be pulling herself together.

But as the match wore on, Mauresmo seemed to sense that her opponent was off her game or injured. She was increasingly content just to keep the ball in play until Henin-Hardenne made a mistake.

There were only six combined winners in the eight games and 31 unforced errors, 20 by Henin-Hardenne. Her shoulders repeatedly slumped after missing shots that she normally would have been smacking for winners. Mauresmo sat and hung her head, seemingly stunned and overwhelmed. She finally got up and raised her arms in triumph as French flags fluttered in the stands, still looking less than triumphant as Henin-Hardenne wept. (AP)