Australian Open:Serena Williams has denied Justine Henin a fairytale ending to her return to Grand Slam tennis after 20 months out by successfully defending her Australian Open title with a 6-4 3-6 6-2 win over the Belgian.
Her fifth win in Melbourne moves her level with the great Billie-Jean King on 12 Grand Slam titles.
Henin, playing just the second tournament of her comeback after 20 months in retirement, started well but lost the first set after being unable to convert her break-point chances.
Williams was regularly able to come up with big serves when they were most needed and the telling stat of the opening set was that Henin converted just one of her seven break opportunities, while Williams took two out of three - the key one coming as Henin served to stay in the set.
Both players had struggled with the length from the baseline - indeed there were too many errors from both women to make this a classic - but Henin ensured it was a memorable final by fighting back in the second set.
The Belgian, only playing thanks to a wildcard from the organisers, blew the advantage of an early break of serve but found ehr best tennis towards the end of the set.
A tight seventh game proved vital and Henin took it courtesy of some excellent tennis, coming to the net to score with a volley before a fine return earned her the break.
Those points kicked off a run of 15 in a row for Henin, during which she squared the match.
Into the decider, Henin held two points for a 2-0 lead but again Williams was able to find big first serves when required.
The top seed managed to hold and by winning the game from a perilous position, she managed to swing the momentum back her way.
Henin was broken in the following game and, showing some signs of fatigue, would win only one more.
A backhand winner - her 46th of the match - sealed victory for Williams who then collapsed to the ground in sheer delight.
She got up to receive the trophy from Margaret Court - the Australian who heads the all-time Grand Slam winners' list - before addressing the crowd.
"I definitely feel like I had a real 'g' (great) moment here today," she said, before pointing out to the watching King "Billie, we're tied".
She added: " Congratulations to Justine for having such a fabulous tournament."
Henin hailed Williams as "a real champion" before vowing to return next year.
"It's been an emotional two weeks for me. I never thought it (play in a major final) would happen again."