Mauresmo wins first Grand Slam title
Henin-Hardenne, trailing 6-1, 2-0, quits because of stomach flu
 Ryan Pierse / Getty Images Amelie Mauresmo celebrates her Australian Open final victory over Justine Henin-Hardenne on Saturday. It is Mauresmo's first Grand Slam title. |
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MELBOURNE, Australia - Amelie Mauresmo bought a special bottle of wine a few years ago in anticipation of her first Grand Slam title.
She finally can pop it open after winning the Australian Open on Saturday when Justine Henin-Hardenne retired because of stomach pain.
In an anticlimactic finish that stunned the packed Rod Laver Arena crowd, Henin-Hardenne quit in the second set because of the stomach pain caused by anti-inflammatory medicine that she took for her sore right shoulder. Mauresmo led 6-1, 2-0 when Henin-Hardenne walked to the net and told the umpire she couldn’t continue.
“Everything really came together here,” Mauresmo said. “I was focusing on really what I had to do and taking control of the points the way I did for the whole match and really not paying really much of an attention to how she felt.”
The 26-year-old French star also benefited when semifinal opponent Kim Clijsters tore a ligament in her ankle in the third set Thursday, and Michaela Krajicek wilted in their third-round match with heat exhaustion.
Mauresmo also suffered through her own ailments — and occasional jitters — while seeking her first major victory.
“Things turn around at some point,” said Mauresmo, who played her first Grand Slam event in 1995 at age 15 and lost to Martina Hingis in the 1999 Australian final. “In France we say, ’The sadness of some makes the happiness of others.”’
On the men’s side, top-ranked Roger Federer, seeking his seventh Grand Slam title and third in a row, will face 54th-ranked Marcos Baghdatis on Sunday night. In the doubles final, Bob and Mike Bryan beat Leander Paes and Martin Damm 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
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Known for getting tight at crucial times, Mauresmo really had nothing to get nervous about this time. She won 19 of the first 24 points en route to a 5-0 lead.
Henin-Hardenne called the trainer after falling behind 2-0 in the second set and played only two more points.
“Last night, I was feeling so bad I thought I would have to go to see a doctor at 3 in the morning because I was such in pain,” said Henin-Hardenne, who went into the match on a 13-match Melbourne Park winning streak.
“I knew at the beginning of the match I couldn’t win it. You always want to try because you know it’s a Grand Slam final. If I would have kept playing, maybe I would injure something else. I have no regrets.”
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“I worked so hard, came close many times,” Mauresmo said. “Finally this is it. Finally!”
She said she doesn’t get to drink much of her beloved wine but bought a 1937 bottle of Chateau d’Yquem sauterne three or four years ago, planning to open it when she finally broke through.
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