Amelie Mauresmo (FRA) v Justine Henin (BEL)
Ladies' Singles Final - 2006
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Whatever happened in this match, Wimbledon was guaranteed a new champion as neither top seed Amelie Mauresmo or Justine Henin-Hardenne had previously lifted the Venus Rosewater Dish. Indeed, this was the first final this century not to feature a Williams sister, and the first in eight years not to feature an American.
Henin-Hardenne came into the match with a 5-4 career advantage
over Mauresmo but they had never previously met on grass,
widely regarded as Mauresmo's best surface. In a match where
she might so easily have crumbled, Mauresmo magnificently
captured her second Grand Slam title of the year on Centre
Court. She was the first Frenchwoman to accomplish the feat
since the great Suzanne Lenglen in 1925.
The moment of victory could hardly have been in greater contrast
to Mauresmo's triumph over the third-seeded Belgian at the
Australian Open in February, her only previous taste of Slam
success. On that day, illness prompted Henin-Hardenne to withdraw
early in the second set and the match culminated in an anti-climactic
handshake at the net. However after two hours and two minutes
of play, Mauresmo got to experience that explosive moment
of joy and she crumpled to her knees in disbelief.
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