Henin-Hardenne joins clay legends with third French Open title 

The 24-year-old becomes the eighth woman to win the Roland Garros title at least three times and the first to win back to back titles since Steffi Graf a decade ago.

American Chris Evert holds the all time record with seven Paris titles while Germany's Graf achieved six.

"Winning here for the third time means maybe more than the fifth Grand Slam for me because it's physically and mentally very hard on clay," said the Belgian who did not drop a set in seven matches.

"I've been very calm during the whole tournament, even if I never played my best tennis. I played very well on the crucial points.

"Winning a Grand Slam without losing a set is not insignificant and I was able to pull out from complicated situations during those two weeks."

Henin-Hardenne said that she was happy to succeed after retiring ill from the Australian Open final in January.

"Last January I couldn't get my opportunity to win a fifth one (Grand Slam) and this time I knew it was another opportunity and I took it," she said.

"It was more a motivation than a revenge. I'm just happy. It was my second Grand Slam final this year and I could win it.

"I feel really happy to join the likes of Monica Seles and Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario. What I experience at Roland Garros is like nowhere else," she said.

"The first one was very emotional because it was the first Grand Slam I won. And then it was the confirmation last year," said the Belgian who crashed out in the second round in 2004 as she battled with illness and injury.

"This year I can't find the words to describe it. It's very tough to win here," she said.

Henin-Hardenne got off to a strong start in the sweltering heat of the Philippe Chatrier court rushing to a 4-1 lead.

A double fault in the sixth game handed Kuznetsova a break back and a lifeline which the 2004 US Open champion quickly seized.

Kuznetsova held serve for 3-4 but despite fighting back from 0-40 down in the eighth game, she failed to convert a break point to level proceedings.

The 20-year-old from St. Petersburg nevertheless not let Henin-Hardenne have it all her own way, holding serve to love for 4-5, before the Belgian served out the set after 50 minutes on court.

Faced with a wilting Henin-Hardenne the Russian squandered a 2-0 lead in the second set, allowing the Belgian to draw level.

The champion also staved off a break point on her serve in the sixth game for 3-3 as Kuznetsova hit wide.

From that point Henin-Hardenne never looked in danger of losing as she cruised to the title and the 940,000 euro top prize on her second match point after 1hr 36min.

"Physically I did suffer a lot. It was time that this Grand Slam came to an end because I wasn't sleeping well for a couple of nights. I was also feeling very tired with the heat," said Henin-Hardenne.

"When she came back into the match I was just trying to play point after point. I probably didn't play my best tennis during the whole match, but at very important games, that's what I did."

It was the 11th win for the Belgian in 12 meetings with Kuznetsova.

"It's disappointing for sure, but it's still a final at Roland Garros," said the Russian. "I'm disappointed I didn't take my chances, but Justine played a great match."

And she paid tribute to the Belgian who now heads for the All England club as she bids to win the only title missing from her collection at Wimbledon.

"She plays smart, she mixes up her game. I guess it's mentality. That's the thing, self belief. She believes a lot to win," said Kuznetsova.

Henin-Hardenne added: "Wimbledon is another story for me. I'm not as familiar with the surface as here. I'm dreaming of winning Wimbledon one day. It would be the cherry on the cake."