Justine Henin-Hardenne finished off the most dominant Roland Garros campaign in over a decade by repelling Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-4 to retain her French Open title in Paris on Saturday.
Not since Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario's 1994 triumph had the women's champion won the claycourt Grand Slam without dropping a set in the tournament.
- Also see: Images from the women's singles final
Ironically, Spaniard Sanchez-Vicario has been advising Kuznetsova but the Russian's lack of consistency on Saturday meant her superior power proved insufficient to deny Henin-Hardenne a third Roland Garros crown in four years.
The 24-year-old Belgian has now joined Martina Hingis and Venus Williams with five Grand Slam titles to her name and she is the first woman since German Steffi Graf in 1996 to win consecutive Roland Garros titles.
Henin-Hardenne received the brilliant Suzanne Lenglen trophy from another women's tennis great, Martina Navratilova.
"Three [French Open] titles, it's huge. I join great champions," smiled the French-speaking Belgian after Kuznetsova tonked a forehand service return long on match point.
Her triumph confirmed Henin-Hardenne's status as the best claycourter in women's tennis and made amends for her disappointment at the Australian Open final in January, when she had to retire during the final against Amelie Mauresmo due to a stomach upset.
The signs were good for the Belgian from the start. She enjoyed majority support in the stands where red, yellow and black Belgian flags fluttered like butterflies in the Parisian sunshine.
She also held a 10-1 head-to-head advantage over Kuznetsova, the 2004 US Open champion.
Unlike some of their more glamorous rivals on tour, Henin-Hardenne and Kuznetsova dress for work on the court, the Belgian with her baseball cap, t-shirt and sensible pale pink skirt and Kuznetsova in a standard red and white tennis dress and headband.
Though a punctured ball in the second point of the match briefly delayed proceedings, they were quickly down to business and Henin-Hardenne made the perfect start by breaking Kuznetsova immediately.
The Russian double-faulted to lose serve a second time and trail 4-1, only for Henin-Hardenne to mimic her.
The remainder of the first set was desperately tight but Henin-Hardenne held her nerve serving for it at 5-4, forcing a forehand error from her opponent.
Rhythmic cries of 'Ju-stine, Ju-stine' rolled down from the stands but even so, there was a definite sense that Kuznetsova was starting to trouble the crowd favourite.
Like a once infamous brand of Russian car, she has needed a bump-start throughout the tournament and having lost the first set Kuznetsova held to love and broke Henin-Hardenne, also to love.
WILD ERRORS
Henin-Hardenne's previous two French Open triumphs came after easy wins in the final against compatriot Kim Clijsters in 2003 and France's Mary Pierce last year but she needed all her resolve to withstand Kuznetsova's comeback.
The Russian's forehand was proving a double-edged sword, however, producing searing winners and wild errors seemingly in equal measure and she lost serve immediately.
Twice Henin-Hardenne held serve grittily and then at 3-3, a stretching overhead after a beautifully constructed rally brought her the break that would win her the match.
For all her variation, Henin-Hardenne's serve has been her most important weapon this fortnight and it did not falter when she needed it most.
With Kuznetsova suddenly error-prone, the Belgian held to love for 5-3 and confirmed her triumph two games later on her second match point when Kuznetsova shovelled a return long.
Henin-Hardenne dropped her racket to court and pressed her hands to her head.
"I just didn't use my chances and if you don't use your chances you don't win the match," said Kuznetsova.
