• Porsche Tennis Grand Prix

Henin defeats Stosur to claim first title since comeback

Justine Henin claimed her first title for over two years © Getty Images

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Justine Henin defeated Sam Stosur 6-4 2-6 6-1 to win the Porsche Grand Prix title - her first since returning to the WTA Tour at the start of this year.

The Belgian, who entered the competition as a wildcard, is now expected to return to the world's top 20 when the rankings are announced next week.

Henin has twice finished runner-up in tournaments since she ended her 19-month break from the sport. This time she went one better - despite having broken a finger in her left hand two weeks ago.

She showed no signs of that injury as she edged a tight first set against an opponent who had won 11 consecutive matches. In an opener of fine margins, Henin was ruthlessly efficient as she converted the one break point that she could squeeze out of her opponent.

Given that the two had never played each other before, it was little surprise that there was a tentative nature to proceedings in the first set - both players were more concerned with working the other out than they were with firing the ball into the corners. Stosur had good cause to feel aggrieved she had lost the set - she took more points than Henin in the opening stanza.

If Stosur was frustrated, she channelled that energy in a constructive manner to dominate the second set. Injecting more ferocity into her groundstrokes, she banished the memory of the circumspect first by claiming two crucial breaks. She was helped by Henin's flimsy second serve - on which the Belgian won just three points in the set.

It was Henin who started the stronger in the final set, claiming three break points in the third game. She frittered away two, before claiming the last as she moved into a strong position to seal the victory.Two further breaks later in the set made sure of Henin's first WTA title since February 2008.

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