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PARIS - If Justine Henin's clay-court stroll to a fourth French Open was a victory manufactured by skill and determination it was, she claimed, also fashioned in heaven.
After routing Serbia's Ana Ivanovic 6-1, 6-2 in 65 minutes yesterday, the tiny Belgian tossed away her racket and raised
her arms skywards in a symbolic gesture of thanks to her mother, Francoise, who died of cancer when Justine was 12.
Newly reconciled with members of her family - brothers David and Thomas and sister Sarah were at courtside, and father Jose was watching on TV - after separating from her husband, Pierre-Yves Hardenne, Henin dedicated the win to them, saying: "Thanks to my protector in heaven. You are with me always."
It was at the same Roland Garros stadium, taken there as a child by her mother, that Henin fell in love with tennis. She has now matched the 1990-92 feat of Monica Seles by winning three in a row.
"I never thought I would have achieved what I have," she told the crowd. "It means so much to me. I have taken a huge step in my life in the last few months because we all suffered a lot in the last few years."
There were no tears, just the joy of proving herself the best in the world, as her 68th week at No 1 on the WTA rankings testifies.
After stemming a whirlwind start by her Serbian opponent, the first from her country to reach a Grand Slam final, Henin ran away with the match.
All her four final appearances in Paris finals have been winning ones, and she has now clocked up 35 consecutive winning sets.
"It's like my garden," she said, smiling. "I just feel at home here."
Ivanovic caused an early tremor by coming out of the blocks like a sprinter, hammering lethal forehands and so startling Henin that she dropped serve on a double-fault.
Ivanovic had four points to make it 2-0 before Henin settled and began to impose her game on the 19-year-old.
The immediate loss of her serve affected Ivanovic as sharply as if she had been slapped in the face.
Her service toss went walkabout, the percentage of first serves plunged and her double-fisted backhand, by no means the strongest of weapons, suffered a wobble. Even the howitzer forehand lost its power and range under the pressure of Henin's hitting, which was so ferocious that it drew gasps from the spectators.
Ivanovic, 20cm taller than the 1.65m Henin, stooped over the net to offer a congratulatory kiss and to tell the audience: "I lost to a great player." Mary Pierce, the 2000 champion, came on to present Henin with the Suzanne Lenglen Cup, which she cuddled briefly before managing to hoist it on high, a further salute to the memory of her mother.
There followed a sincere tribute to her coach, Carlos Rodriguez. They have been a team for 11 years now; 11 years in which his presence has been a constant, settling factor amid the frequent unhappiness of her off-court life.
Then, to wild applause from those Belgian banner-bearers, the four-time French champion promised: "The adventure continues."
At Wimbledon, perhaps - the only Grand Slam to elude her so far, and where she has twice been runner-up.
Justine Henin's Roland Garros titles
2003: bt Kim Clijsters 6-0, 6-4
2005: bt Mary Pierce 6-1, 6-1
2006: bt Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-4
2007: bt Ana Ivanovic 6-1, 6-2
- INDEPENDENT
