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Justine Henin beats Ivanovic to take title in French Open

Justine Henin joined the Roland Garros greats by defeating Ana Ivanovic 6-1, 6-2 yesterday to complete a hat-trick of French Open titles.

In what was an embarrassingly one-sided 65-minute final, the 25-year-old Belgian became just the second woman in the post-1968 Open era to win three in a row. Monica Seles won consecutive titles from 1990 to 1992.

It was also her fourth win in five years in Paris and the sixth Grand Slam title of her career, taking her past both Martina Hingis and Venus Williams. Only Serena Williams, who has eight titles, has a better record among active players.

All Henin's wins in French Open finals have come in straight sets and this was no exception as the 19-year-old Ivanovic, playing in her first Grand Slam final, failed to reproduce the sparkling form that saw off Maria Sharapova in the semi-finals.

"Everything went so well for me, though I was tight at the start," Henin said.

"It feels different this year because I have had some difficult moments this year but I have rediscovered my happiness and my family," she said.

Ivanovic praised the Belgian.

"She's a great player and played a great match," the Serbian teenager said.

Ivanovic got off to an encouraging start by blasting a forehand winner down the line to open the final.

Ivanovic then had three points at 40-0 on her own serve to go up 2-0, but she started having problems with her toss, allowing Henin to get back into the match.

Two games later, Ivanovic served for game point, but again failed to convert.

An Ivanovic double fault then gave Henin a second straight service break to go up 3-1.

Henin grabbed control of the rallies, switching the play from side to side.

The Belgian rattled off the next three games to take the first set 6-1 in just 34 minutes.

The Serb did manage to stop the run of losing eight games in a row lost by winning her next service game, but two games later she was put under pressure by Henin and crumbled once again.

That left Henin up 4-1 up. She showed no mercy and clinched her fourth French Open title by pushing away an easy volley.
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