Tennis: Henin Reverts to Type to Take Third Successive Title

Justine Henin turned her fourth French Open victory in five years into a celebration of the end of a bitter family feud. Her one-sided triumph over 19-year-old Ana Ivanovic of Serbia was almost forgotten as she reveled in the happiness of sharing her success with her brothers and sister, who were in the stands, and with her father, Jose, who watched the match on television, but who received a special 'Merci, Papa' when Henin took the microphone to address the crowd at the end of the match.

It was almost as if the 15,000 spectators, who had little to stir them during Henin's 6-1 6-2 victory that lasted just over an hour, were intruding on a private occasion. The champion blew kisses to her older brothers David and Thomas and her younger sister Sarah, saluted her father and then, turning her eyes skyward, said: 'I thank who is up there for protecting me.' In other words a thank-you also to her mother who died when she was 14. In the players' area later, she paraded happily with her young niece.

Until Henin's separation from her husband Pierre-Yves Hardenne six months ago, she had hardly spoken to her father or other members of her immediate family for the best part of a decade. Squabbles over money were thought to be behind the rift, although, in her own words, Henin said: 'They refused to understand my ambitions and determination to become a top player. They couldn't understand the time and dedication it takes and they hurt me very much.'

Three months ago, Henin made the move to bring the family together again with a telephone call to her father. 'Now we talk to each other every day,' she said. 'And it's great, yeah. Not everything is easy, but it's great.' Asked if she would invite her father to come to Paris next year, she said: 'We'll see. I need to take my time. I knew he was watching me on television. He sent me a message. He's very proud of his daughter.'

Known as Henin-Hardenne when she won in Paris in 2003, 2005 and 2006, she showed yesterday that she is just as lethal with one barrel as she was with two. She simply carried too much firepower for Ivanovic. Her twenty-first win in a row at Roland Garros, during which she has won 35 successive sets, made her only the second woman in the Open era to win the French title three years running. Her sequence of title successes since 2003 was interrupted only when she was suffering from a debilitating illness in 2004.

Henin, 25, has long had one of the most admired games in tennis with a one-handed backhand that makes traditionalists purr and a raking forehand that she feels is even more effective. Combine these assets with a lust for competition that is as fierce as Paris Hilton's is for publicity, plus the experience gained from nine previous grand-slam finals, and Ivanovic's chances of upsetting the Belgian were slender from the outset. In the event, her resistance was swept aside as Henin took just 65 minutes to boost her career prize money of £7.2 million by a further £680,000.

Henin has promised us a softer image since reflecting on life after the break-up of her marriage to Hardenne. 'I'm trying to be more cool,' she said. 'I think I can be focused as I enjoy the moment.' But reverting to type is easily done and it was the old, hard-nosed combatant who summarily snuffed out Ivanovic's hopes of glory on a steamily warm afternoon.

Ivanovic started perkily enough. She broke Henin in the opening game of the match when the Belgian seemed the more nervous, a double fault handing Ivanovic her early lead. But it would be 40 more minutes before Ivanovic won another game as Henin imposed herself with the severity of her hitting that seemed to make the young Serbian question her right to be on the same court as the world number one. By the end Ivanovic had effectively run up the white flag. Her lack of stomach for the fight was reflected in her meekly accepting the overrule that gave Henin an ace and handed the title-holder her first match point.

It was the only one Henin needed as she ran in to dispatch a forehand volley beyond Ivanovic's reach before hurling her racket aside and starting the family celebrations. 'It's a different feeling now I'm back with my family,' she said. 'At last I have found happiness again on court.'

The contrast between the two finalists as they posed for photographers before the match could hardly have been more marked. Henin at 5ft 5in just about managed to crack a smile, while the 6ft 1in Ivanovic beamed at the wonder of it all, being in her first grand-slam final in the art-deco splendour of Court Philippe-Chatrier. This was definitely a business assignment for Henin, while for Ivanovic, the first player to represent Serbia in a grand-slam final (Monica Seles, a Serbian, represented Yugoslavia in her many finals), it was a dream come true.

Ivanovic's nervousness became apparent in the second game after she had opened a 40-love lead and had a total of four points for a 2-0 advantage. On one of these she struck a serve that almost landed in a line-judge's lap. If Henin needed any encouragement, she could hardly have asked for it to be transmitted more openly. From 1-0 down, Henin won eight games on the trot to wrap up the first set and go 2-0 in front in the second. Ivanovic then held serve to love, but it was as if Henin felt momentarily merciful towards a dispirited foe. Here, ever so briefly, was the softer side. Within moments, Henin had gathered herself to continue her relentless drive to the title.