Serena Williams claimed her fifth Australian Open crown and ended Justine Henin's hopes of a comeback title with a three-set win in the final.
The world number one was pushed all the way by the unseeded Belgian who was playing in just her 12th competitive match following her return from an 18-month retirement.
Henin hoped to cap her first Grand Slam since ending an 18-month retirement with a fairytale win, but Williams was too strong in the final set.
The American, 28, won 6-4 3-6 6-2 in two hours and seven minutes.
The triumph means Williams has now notched up 12 Grand Slam titles, drawing level with the great Billie-Jean King.
It was the world number one's magnificent serve that gave her the edge, regularly digging her out of trouble as she saved 11 of 16 points during the match.
And despite having had her right thigh and left knee heavily taped as it had been for much of the tournament, Williams was the stronger in the closing stages as a first Grand Slam tournament in two years finally appeared to take its toll on Henin.
The Belgian, 27, is still without a world ranking as she has yet to play the minimum requirement of three tournaments but she has already done enough to show that she will be vying with Williams for the top spot in the future, telling the Melbourne crowd after the match: "I'll see you next year."
But she could not quite match the achievement of her compatriot Kim Clijsters, who won her first Grand Slam tournament after coming out of retirement at last year's US Open.
"I'd like to congratulate Justine for having a fabulous tournament and giving me such a great run today," she said afterwards. "I think it could have gone either way and I definitely think she's back so all you guys back there definitely have a lot to cheer for."
Henin said: "It's been a very emotional two weeks for me. I thought they would never happen again, that I could come back on the court.
"I've really enjoyed my tournament and I think this is the best place for me to start here in Australia because you know tennis so well, you know the culture of the sport so thank you for your support.
"I'd like to congratulate Serena who is of course a real champion so well done again."
0 коментара:
Post a Comment