MELBOURNE: Amelie Mauresmo won her first Grand Slam title on Saturday, dominating Justine Henin-Hardenne before the Belgian retired in the second set of the Australian Open final because of stomach pain.

Mauresmo won the first set 6-1 and was leading 2-0 in the second when Henin-Hardenne walked to the net and told the chair umpire she could not continue.

It ended a frustrating seven-year wait for Mauresmo, who lost the final here to Martina Hingis in 1999, and had not reached another Grand Slam championship match since. Mauresmo had the second-longest wait for her first major title in the Open era, taking 32 Grand Slam tournaments to win a final — Jana Novotna won Wimbledon in 1998, in her 45th major.

"It's been such a long time, and yet I still don't know what to say," Mauresmo said. "All the people who still believed in me, after seven years — it's a long time. Not only myself, but people who're working with me, believed me and pushed me, even when I was down."

``Maybe we found the way, maybe we'll try to keep going.''

Henin-Hardenne held for the only time in the sixth game, when Mauresmo drilled a forehand just wide down the line. She surrendered the first set in 33 minutes on consecutive forehand errors. She was only getting 29 per cent of her first serves in.

Mauresmo broke serve and then held again to lead 2-0 in the second before Henin-Hardenne called for the trainer. She complained of stomach pain and only played two more points before quitting the match.

"I was feeling so sick and I couldn't stay longer on the court," Henin-Hardenne said. "I'm feeling very disappointed to end the tournament this way." — AP

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