Henin Outlasts Mauresmo, Defends Eastbourne Title - 網球

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Henin Outlasts Mauresmo, Defends Eastbourne Title

EASTBOURNE, Great Britain - Not only was it the first time since 1979 that
the two finalists from Wimbledon the year before would do battle for the
Eastbourne trophy, it was also the closest contest since then. And just like
it was 28 years ago, the roles were reversed; this time it was Justine Henin
who came through, avenging her All-England Club loss with a hard-fought 75
67(4) 76(2) win over Amelie Mauresmo.

The record crowd of almost 6,000 was treated to one of the most competitive
final matches in tournament history, but things didn't seem so close from the
outset. An aggressive Mauresmo jumped out to an early 4-1 lead, seemingly
continuing her play from last year's Wimbledon final, when she came back from
a set down to prevail in three sets; but Henin wasn't fazed, rallying her way
back to win the set. She rode the momentum in the second, breaking for a 3-1
lead but losing it later on, and Mauresmo eased in a tie-break to send the
match to a decider.

The third set was much like the first with Mauresmo racing out to leads of
4-2 and 5-3, and Henin fighting back every time. The Belgian, who also won a
thriller last year here in the final against Anastasia Myskina, would go on
to dominate the tie-break and capture her second consecutive International
Women's Open.

"Amelie is definitely one of the best players on grass; it's a surface that I
find difficult to play her on, so I am happy I was able to turn it around
today," Henin said. "At 4-2 in the second set, she raised her level. I wasn't
as intense anymore so that was the reason she came back into the match. It
was a high level match and I would say better than our Wimbledon final last
year."

"There were ups and downs, but overall it was a high quality match," Mauresmo
said. "My serve let me down a bit when I served for the match, but when you
play a match as close as this one or two points separate victory from defeat,
and I just didn't serve well when it mattered. She played better on the key
moments."

The quality of the match was impressive, especially considering the swirling
winds that seemed to bother both players in the final.

"The weather was terrible today; the wind was really bothering me - everyone
knows I hate to play in such wind, but it was the same for both of us," Henin
said. "All you can do is stay positive and find a way to win. I'm happy I did
that today."

"It was a very high level match considering the conditions," Mauresmo
declared. "Today the wind was definitely the worst this week."

Henin improves to 8-0 at Eastbourne, capturing the Tier II title in her only
prior appearance last year. This is also her fifth title of the year
following victories at Dubai, Doha, Warsaw and Roland Garros. But the world
No.1 maintains focus.

"I have to get ready now for my first round match at Wimbledon on Monday, and
I am not thinking anything beyond. I don't like first weeks at the Grand
Slams; there's a lot of pressure, and it's hard to find my best level. I have
to be careful about this and really take it one match at a time."

Mauresmo has been playing her way back into top form in the last few weeks,
having missed nearly two months due to recovery from appendix surgery. She
made the Strasbourg final just before Roland Garros and was playing the
second final of her comeback on the lawns of Devonshire Park this past week.

"I'm very happy to have gotten my rhythm back; grass is a very good surface
for me and obviously I have fond memories of the last time I played on it.
I'm very close to being back to my best level, and I'm excited about that."

In 1978, Martina Navratilova beat Chris Evert for the Wimbledon title, 26 64
75; in 1979, Evert avenged that loss in the Eastbourne final with a 75 57
1311 win.

The 2007 International Women's Open singles draw went incredibly to form,
with all eight seeds reaching their projected quarterfinal berths. But one
lower seed, No.8 Marion Bartoli, shone through to the semifinal round with a
61 60 drubbing of No.4 Elena Dementieva, falling to Henin. It was Bartoli's
second straight grass court semifinal, having also reached the final four
last week in Birmingham.

It was a good day for top seeds, with Henin being joined in the winner's
circle by Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur, who claimed the doubles with a
67(5) 64 63 championship victory over Kveta Peschke and Rennae Stubbs. Stubbs
saved four set points in the first set serving 4-5, but eventually she and
Peschke succumbed to the constant attacking of the American-Australian duo
across the net.

Raymond and Stosur were in top form all week, not losing a set until the
final and taking home their fifth title of the year together, their 20th
overall. Peschke and Stubbs, the No.3 seeds, beat No.2 seeds Cara Black and
Liezel Huber in a third set tie-break in the semis.

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