Mauresmo wins women's final

The Associated Press

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Amelie Mauresmo won her first Grand Slam title earlier today, 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 1999 Australian Open final to Martina Hingis 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, 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 that 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."

The men's final is Sunday at 2:30 a.m. CST, with top-ranked Roger Federer set to face 20-year-old Marcos Baghdatis.

Federer advanced to the championship match with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-0, 6-2 victory Friday over Nicolas Kiefer. Federer is aiming for his third consecutive major title after winning at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2005.

Henin-Hardenne held for the only time in the sixth game, when Mauresmo sent a forehand just wide. She lost the first set in 33 minutes on consecutive forehand errors and got only 29 percent 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 lost two more points before retiring.

"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.

"I'm sorry I couldn't find a little bit more."