Amélie Mauresmo wins Australian Open
{{date|January 29, 2006}}
{{Wikinews Today infobox}}
[[France|French]] [[w:tennis| tennis]] champion [[w: Amélie Mauresmo | Amélie Mauresmo]] yesterday won her first [[w:Grand Slam (tennis)| Grand Slam]] title at the [[w:Australian Open| Australian Open]] in [[w:Melbourne| Melbourne]]. Mauresmo was winning 6-1 2-0 when her opponent, [[Belgium| Belgian]] player [[w: Justine Henin-Hardenne| Justine Henin-Hardenne]], retired, citing a stomach complaint.

After winning a rally in the second game of the second set, Henin-Hardenne approached the umpire and complained of feeling unwell. She then consulted her trainer before returning to the court. After losing two points, she approached the net and told Mauresmo she was too ill to continue, ending the game in 52 minutes.

Henin-Hardenne apologized to her opponent, the tournament organisers and a disappointed crowd of 15,452 people. “I’m feeling very disappointed for sure to end the tournament this way. I am feeling very sick and couldn’t stay longer and continue,” she said.

She later told a press conference that she believed [[w:anti-inflammatory| anti-inflammatory]] medication she had been taking for a shoulder injury had made her feel ill and left her with no energy. “I felt it when I woke up, but I tried. I knew at the beginning of the match that I could not win it,” she said.

Henin-Hardenne’s retirement gave Mauresmo her third victory by default in the tournament. She reached the fourth round after [[w:Dutch people|Dutch]] player [[w:Michaella Krajicek| Michaella Krajicek]] retired with [[w:heat exhaustion| heat exhaustion]]. In the semi-final, Mauresmo was again the beneficiary of a retirement when Belgian player [[w:Kim Clijsters|Kim Clijsters]] retired with an ankle injury.

Until now, 26-year-old Mauresmo was the only former world no.1 to never have won a [[w:Grand Slam| Grand Slam]]  title. She said in a post-match interview that when she returns home to her base in [[w:Geneva, Switzerland| Geneva, Switzerland]], she will toast the win with a bottle of 1937 [[w:Château d'Yquem| Château d'Yquem]] wine which she has been saving to celebrate her first grand slam title.

“I bought a bottle about three or four years ago. Very good one. Very old one also. I keep it. I thought, "You know, this one is going to be for my Grand Slam, my first Grand Slam title,"" she said.

Mauresmo’s win comes seven years after the then [[w:Single-elimination_tournament#Seeding| unseeded]] player reached the 1999 Australian Open final, the last time she has reached a Grand Slam final. She lost to [[w:Martina Hingis| Martina Hingis]] and was berated by the press and several players for her muscular build and for acknowledging her then partner, Sylvie Bourdon, believing if they were open about their relationship, people would be less inclined to gossip. At the time, [[w:Lindsay Davenport|Lindsay Davenport]] complained that playing Mauresmo was like playing against a male player. While Martina Hingis accused her of being “half a man.”

Henin-Hardenne’s retirement is the first time a player has retired from a women’s Grand Slam final since [[w:Brazil| Brazil’s]] [[w:Maria Bueno|Maria Bueno]] retired in 1966 during a final against [[w:Australia|Australia’s]] [[w:Margaret Smith Court|Margaret Smith Court]].

Mauresmo is now ranked world no.2 and is the first Frenchwoman to win an Australian Open since [[w:Mary Pierce|Mary Pierce]] won in 1995. Mauresmo takes home the Australian Open trophy and prize money of $AU1,220,000, while Henin-Hardenne walked away with the runner-up prize money of $AU610,000.

== Sources ==
*{{source|url=http://sport.guardian.co.uk/tennis/story/0,,1697539,00.html
|title=Henin-Hardenne quits to dampen Mauresmo's triumph 
|author=Richard Evans
|pub=Guardian Unlimited
|date=January 29, 2006}}
*{{source|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/tennis/can-mauresmo-finally-put-all-chokes-aside/2006/01/27/1138319451325.html
|title=Can Mauresmo finally put all chokes aside?
|author=Jake Niall
|pub=The Age
|date=January 28, 2006}}
*{{source|url=http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=tennisNews&storyID=URI:urn:newsml:reuters.com:20060128:MTFH00081_2006-01-28_07-47-26_SYD197551:1
|title=Mauresmo ends long wait for grand slam victory
|author=Paul Tait
|pub=Reuters UK
|date=January 28, 2006}}
*{{source|url=http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/sports/mauresmowins28.htm
|title=Mauresmo wins Australian Open
|author=John Pye
|pub=Cape Cod Times
|date=January 28, 2006}}
*{{source|url=http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story/0,20281,17966924-5001023,00.html
|title=Mauresmo handed Open final
|author=
|pub=Daily Telegraph
|date=January 28, 2006}}
*{{source|url=http://www.noticias.info/asp/aspComunicados.asp?nid=141397
|title=AUSTRALIAN OPEN: Final: Interview with Justine Henin-Hardenne
|author=
|pub=Noticias
|date=January 28, 2006}}
*{{source|url=http://www.noticias.info/asp/aspComunicados.asp?nid=141398
|title=AUSTRALIAN OPEN: Final: Interview with Amelie Mauresmo
|author=
|pub=Noticias
|date=January 28, 2006}}
*{{source|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/tennis/wake-up-mauresmos-the-norm-now-not-exception/2006/01/26/1138066923295.html
|title=Wake up, Mauresmo's the norm now, not exception
|author=Richard Hinds
|pub=Sydney Morning Herald
|date=January 27, 2006}}

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[[Category:Australia]]
[[category:Oceania]]
[[category:Sports]]
[[category:tennis]]
[[Category:Australian Open (tennis)]]

[[sv:Mauresmo vann Australian Open]]
French  tennis champion  Amélie Mauresmo yesterday won her first  Grand Slam title at the  Australian Open in  Melbourne. Mauresmo was winning 6-1 2-0 when her opponent,  Belgian player  Justine Henin-Hardenne, retired, citing a stomach complaint.

After winning a rally in the second game of the second set, Henin-Hardenne approached the umpire and complained of feeling unwell. She then consulted her trainer before returning to the court. After losing two points, she approached the net and told Mauresmo she was too ill to continue, ending the game in 52 minutes.

Henin-Hardenne apologized to her opponent, the tournament organisers and a disappointed crowd of 15,452 people. “I’m feeling very disappointed for sure to end the tournament this way. I am feeling very sick and couldn’t stay longer and continue,” she said.

She later told a press conference that she believed  anti-inflammatory medication she had been taking for a shoulder injury had made her feel ill and left her with no energy. “I felt it when I woke up, but I tried. I knew at the beginning of the match that I could not win it,” she said.

Henin-Hardenne’s retirement gave Mauresmo her third victory by default in the tournament. She reached the fourth round after Dutch player  Michaella Krajicek retired with  heat exhaustion. In the semi-final, Mauresmo was again the beneficiary of a retirement when Belgian player Kim Clijsters retired with an ankle injury.

Until now, 26-year-old Mauresmo was the only former world no.1 to never have won a  Grand Slam  title. She said in a post-match interview that when she returns home to her base in  Geneva, Switzerland, she will toast the win with a bottle of 1937  Château d'Yquem wine which she has been saving to celebrate her first grand slam title.

“I bought a bottle about three or four years ago. Very good one. Very old one also. I keep it. I thought, "You know, this one is going to be for my Grand Slam, my first Grand Slam title,"" she said.

Mauresmo’s win comes seven years after the then  unseeded player reached the 1999 Australian Open final, the last time she has reached a Grand Slam final. She lost to  Martina Hingis and was berated by the press and several players for her muscular build and for acknowledging her then partner, Sylvie Bourdon, believing if they were open about their relationship, people would be less inclined to gossip. At the time, Lindsay Davenport complained that playing Mauresmo was like playing against a male player. While Martina Hingis accused her of being “half a man.”

Henin-Hardenne’s retirement is the first time a player has retired from a women’s Grand Slam final since  Brazil’s Maria Bueno retired in 1966 during a final against Australia’s Margaret Smith Court.

Mauresmo is now ranked world no.2 and is the first Frenchwoman to win an Australian Open since Mary Pierce won in 1995. Mauresmo takes home the Australian Open trophy and prize money of $AU1,220,000, while Henin-Hardenne walked away with the runner-up prize money of $AU610,000.

category:Oceania
category:Sports
category:tennis
Australia Australian Open (tennis)