Mauresmo shows her mettle to defeat Henin and win Wimbledon

Welcome to Wimbledon Flashbacks, where wtatennis.com will take a look back at some of the most memorable narratives from The Championships over the past 20 years.

For more classic moments, check out our other Wimbledon Flashbacks:
1999: Qualifier Dokic dispatches top seed Hingis in first-round stunner
1999: Stevenson topples Raymond in all-American 1999 thriller
2003: Navratilova shows her class at 46 to win title 20 alongside Paes
2005: Venus, Davenport contest classic clash in enthralling 2005 final
2009: Safina, Mauresmo christen Centre Court roof with Manic Monday epic
2010: Pironkova overcomes 'impossible,' doubles up on Wimbledon magic
2012: Immaculate Shvedova unlocks historic Golden Set
2013: Lisicki's upset streak peaks during run to 2013 Wimbledon final
2015: Hingis, Mirza dominate at Wimbledon in historic triumph
2017: Returning Rybarikova stuns Pliskova in 2017 Cinderella run
2019: From qualifying to Centre Court, Gauff's star rises at SW19

THE MOMENT: Before 2006, Amélie Mauresmo had established herself as the nearly woman of The Championships. In each of her previous three visits, she had reached the semifinals stages only to fall to Serena Williams in 2002 and 2004, then Lindsay Davenport in 2005.

Much had been made of her inability to get over the finishing line from a winning position, with the latter two of those final-four defeats coming after she had held a set and a break advantage only to lose a tight second.

Seeded No.1 in 2006 in the absence of Serena Williams, she ensured there was to be no repeat. The semis were negotiated in a steely manner when history once again seemed to be repeating itself as she allowed a lead to slip against Maria Sharapova before rallying to win the deciding set, teeing up a final against Justine Henin.

The Belgian arrived the player in form. She was coming off a third French Open victory, which she had sealed without dropping a set, and she had just swept to the Eastbourne in emphatic style. She dropped barely a handful of games in the first week of The Championships before winning a tight semi with Kim Clijsters to reach a second Wimbledon final and propel herself to the very brink of a career Grand Slam.

In a repeat of the Australian Open final from January, an encounter that allowed Mauresmo to seal her maiden major crown, albeit with the aid of an ailing Henin retiring early in the second set, it was the 24-year-old who made the quicker start to the match.

The opening set lasted only 31 minutes as it was sealed by Henin, who was ruthless from the outset, breaking in the opening game to seemingly amplify any nerves that her opponent might have been feeling.

But faced with the prospect of defeat, the Frenchwoman rallied. In the second, she appeared far looser, playing a more aggressive brand of tennis, preventing Henin making the forays to the net that had served her so effectively in the first set and instead forcing her into errant shots from behind the baseline.

The tension remained palpable in the deciding set, but after establishing an early lead, Mauresmo held out, sinking to her knees in tears as Henin fired into the net on match point.

“I definitely wanted this win today and I don't want anybody to talk about my nerves anymore,” she said in her on-court interview.

“This trophy is so special in the world of tennis and it feels great.”

Henin, meanwhile, was typically magnanimous in defeat, explaining: “There's nothing else to say: she was better than me on the day and she took her chances.”

THE MEANING: For much of her career, Mauresmo had faced questions regarding her mental strength. Despite reaching WTA World No.1 in September 2004, her lack of a Grand Slam success had her in the conversation of being the greatest woman never to win a major.

Victory meant that she put her history of capitulation from winning situations firmly behind her, elevating her to the status of multiple Grand Slam champion in the process as she showed she had both the talent and the mental strength to win on the greatest stage against a world-class opponent in a fit and healthy state. It would prove, however, to be the last of her majors.

She backed up her success at Wimbledon by reaching the semifinals of the US Open, where she overcame Serena before finally falling to Sharapova, although at the year-end Sony Ericsson Championships, Henin gained some measure of revenge with a straight-sets victory in Madrid.

Since retiring in 2009, she has been inducted to the Tennis Hall of Fame, while she has carved out a successful career in coaching, overseeing the progress of the likes of Victoria Azarenka, Marion Bartoli, Any Murray and Lucas Pouille.

Henin, meanwhile, would never complete the career Grand Slam, with her appearance against Mauresmo the last of her two Wimbledon finals.