“It’s there, it’s at home in the dark lying there quietly,” she said. “Now I have to open it.”

Henin-Hardenne has four Grand Slam singles titles, including the 2004 Australian Open crown that she couldn’t defend last year due to injury. She burst into tears when she reached a courtside chair after quitting.

“I don’t know what is harder, to lose even when you’re playing well or when you have to retire like that,” Henin-Hardenne said.

Despite a recent rash of injuries, she said she doesn’t feel jinxed and hopes she’ll be able to play again in a few days.

Storms outside produced the only thunder of the match. The stadium roof was closed, trapping several birds inside, and they chirped loudly throughout.

There were only nine combined winners in the nine games and 31 unforced errors, 20 by Henin-Hardenne. She repeatedly slumped her shoulders after missing shots that she normally would have been smacking for winners.

She won a 33-stroke point on Mauresmo’s error in the second game of the second set, but lost the next two points to surrender the game.

“I was dead,” Henin-Hardenne said.

Mauresmo spoke to her at the net and embraced her after she quit.

Mauresmo then sat and hung her head, seemingly stunned and overwhelmed. She finally got up and lifted her arms in triumph, choking back her own tears as French flags fluttered in the stands, still looking less than triumphant as Henin-Hardenne cried.

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But as the victory started to sink in, Mauresmo’s smile got wider and wider.

“There were tough moments,” Mauresmo said. “A lot of people in the press were saying, ‘She’s not going to get there.”’

Now she has vindication.

“The joy is here,” she said. “I’m probably the proudest woman for now.”

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