February 01, 2010

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It was a battle between arguably the two greatest champions of this era in a much-anticipated women’s singles final at the Australian Open and in the end it was World No. 1 Serena Williams who successfully defended her Melbourne crown thanks to a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 victory over arch-rival Justine Henin.

Williams and Henin certainly rose to the occasion for the first Grand Slam championship match of the season, playing at the top of their games to deliver a memorable final filled with exquisite shot-making, drama and excitement. It was the first women's Grand Slam final to be decided in a third set since 2006 when Amélie Mauresmo came from behind to beat Henin at Wimbledon.

The win is Williams’ twelfth Grand Slam title which puts her at No. 6 on the all-time list in the good company of American legend Billie Jean King. Only Steffi Graff, Margaret Court, Helen Wills Moody, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert have collected more major singles titles in their careers. Williams also becomes the first woman in the Open Era to win five Australian Open singles trophies.

"I'd like to congratulate Justine for having such a fabulous tournament and giving me a run today - it was a great final and could have gone either way. I'm also really happy Justine came back," Williams said during the trophy presentation.

Henin, who was playing her first Grand Slam event since coming out of an 18-month retirement at the beginning of the year, was trying to follow in the footsteps of fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters who took home top honours at the U.S. Open last summer just three tournaments into her comeback.

"It's been a very emotional two weeks for me," Henin said. "I thought it would never happen again and finally I could come back on the courts. I really enjoyed my tournament. The best place for me to start was here in Australia."

There may have been only one champion at Rod Laver Arena, but both 2010 finalists are winners who have grown their already remarkable legacies and one can only hope that they will renew hostilities again in the very near future.