Henin Continues Dominance on Clay at Roland Garros

"It just hit me, I guess," Ivanovic said.

The first sign of trouble came on her awkward serve tosses; she had to catch the ball and start again. Henin broke back to 1-1 with a backhand that clipped the net and danced over. The next time Ivanovic served, she double-faulted twice, including at break point, then hung her head.

That was part of a stretch in which Henin won 19 of 23 points and eight consecutive games.

By then, fans were regularly chanting, "Ana! Ana!" in hopes of getting her going. But Ivanovic kept making mistakes -- she finished with 26 unforced errors, twice as many as Henin, plus five double-faults -- and her face was flushed.

"If I could control my emotions better," said Ivanovic, who upset No. 2 Maria Sharapova in the semifinals, "it would be a much different match."

Maybe. But Henin was superb and never let up. Even when Ivanovic made yet another miscue to make it 6-1, 4-1, Henin let out an "Allez!" ("Let's go!") as the ball sailed out, as if things were tight and the point were vital.

"It was important for me to show that I wanted to win every point," Henin said. "And not let her come back."

To reinforce that, Henin's coach, Carlos Rodriguez, gave her three envelopes containing notes -- one to be opened if leading by three games, another if she served for the match, and a third if she won.

"What I'm saying with the note is, 'This is what you have done to get to this stage, now continue,'" Rodriguez said. "It's simple."

TV cameras caught the second note, which Henin dutifully opened during the changeover before she served out the last game. Among the messages, handwritten in all capital letters: "Allez."

Four points later, the match was over. Henin ended it with a forehand volley, then flung her racket behind her and leaned on the net, closing her eyes and exhaling.

Soon, she was making eye contact with her siblings and Rodriguez. During the on-court trophy ceremony, Henin spoke about her father, who watched on TV, and made reference to her late mother, who brought a 10-year-old Justine to Roland Garros to watch a tennis match in person for the first time.

"That was my heart that was talking," Henin said later. "What happened in the past is the past, and I just want to move forward, and look forward, and enjoy every moment of my life with them back in it now."

She wouldn't discuss what precipitated the estrangement, nor what prompted the reconciliation. Her brother David said things changed when he was in a car accident this year and awoke from a coma to find Henin in his room.

"We were separated a long time, too long a time, and coming together again is a very powerful thing," he said. "That happens in many families, that the parents lose contact with their kids, that brothers and sisters do not speak to one another anymore. It happens all the time, but we're talking about it here because she is famous."

Famous for swinging a mean racket and for mastering the rigors of clay.

Now, Henin finds joy away from tennis, too.

"Emotionally, I had to deal with so many things in the last few months, good things, bad things," Henin said. "But I just tried to stay very focused, concentrate, get my motivation, and just try to be happy on the court, and I felt great today."