Second seed Justine Henin beat top seed Kim Clijsters 6-4 3-6 6-3 in the final of the Heineken Trophy today, avenging a semi-final loss to her Belgian compatriot at the French Open. The victory gave the 19-year-old Henin her third title of the year and will send her to Wimbledon unbeaten on grass this season.
It was also Henin's first Tour victory over Clijsters, who was beaten in the Roland Garros final by American Jennifer Capriati. In a contest reminiscent of the their French Open semi-final clash won by Clijsters, the two Belgians spent much of the match working from the baseline.
Henin broke Clijsters on her opening serve and that was all she needed to take the first set. Clijsters had the only break in the second but could not deny her close friend another title. Henin got the decisive break in the eighth game of the third and then served out for the match.
