MIAMI, Florida -- Serena Williams fought off two match points on her way to an epic 0-6 7-5 6-3 comeback win over world number one Justine Henin to claim her fourth Sony Ericsson title on Saturday.
Brushed aside in 26 minutes in the opening set and broken by the Belgian to start the second, Williams's title hopes had appeared over.
But the muscular American, backed by a vocal home crowd at Crandon Park, gathered her reserves and slowly clawed her way back into the contest, finally gaining control after fending off two match points with Henin serving at 5-4 in the second.
With the crowd and the momentum now on her side, a ruthless Williams moved in for the kill sweeping through the next six games to take a 3-0 lead in the third set, closing out the two hour 26 minute marathon with service winner on her first match point.
"It's just not in me to give up," said Williams afterwards.
While Williams is currently ranked 18th, the final featured the WTA Tour's two hottest players with both women coming into the showdown having lost just one match this season.
Henin arrived in the championship match riding a 13 match unbeaten streak including back-to-back titles in Dubai and Doha while Williams, playing her first event since the Australian Open, brought a 12 match unbeaten run onto Stadium court.
Playing her first tournament since her improbable Australian Open triumph in January, Williams broke Henin in the 12th game of the second set to force the deciding third set.
This time it was Williams who took charge, breaking Henin in the second game en route to a 3-0 lead.
Henin put the set back on serve with a break in the fifth game, but Williams broke again for a 5-3 lead and a chance to serve for the match.
But inconsistency struck the American again, and she was quickly in a 0-40 hole. She battled back, with two stinging backhands and a service winner, and took the match with a line-kissing second serve on her first match point
Henin, who overtook Maria Sharapova atop the world rankings on Monday, had arrived in Miami buoyed by tournament victories in Dubai and Qatar.
Poised
The 24-year-old, who skipped the Australian Open in January because of personal troubles, had never made it past the quarterfinals in Miami, but appeared poised to make the most of her first finals appearance when she raced through the opening set.
Williams failed to muster even a game point on her own serve until the fifth game, when Henin battled back from 40-15 to get the break and serve for the set.
A forehand wide on her first set point was the first noticeable miscue from the Belgian, and Williams dug in to save two more set points before Henin pocketed the set when Williams fired a backhand wide.
"She's a real fighter," Henin said. "At the end she was better than me, she was really focused on every point. I gave my best but it wasn't enough."
Brushed aside in 26 minutes in the opening set and broken by the Belgian to start the second, Williams's title hopes had appeared over.
But the muscular American, backed by a vocal home crowd at Crandon Park, gathered her reserves and slowly clawed her way back into the contest, finally gaining control after fending off two match points with Henin serving at 5-4 in the second.
With the crowd and the momentum now on her side, a ruthless Williams moved in for the kill sweeping through the next six games to take a 3-0 lead in the third set, closing out the two hour 26 minute marathon with service winner on her first match point.
"It's just not in me to give up," said Williams afterwards.
While Williams is currently ranked 18th, the final featured the WTA Tour's two hottest players with both women coming into the showdown having lost just one match this season.
Henin arrived in the championship match riding a 13 match unbeaten streak including back-to-back titles in Dubai and Doha while Williams, playing her first event since the Australian Open, brought a 12 match unbeaten run onto Stadium court.
Playing her first tournament since her improbable Australian Open triumph in January, Williams broke Henin in the 12th game of the second set to force the deciding third set.
This time it was Williams who took charge, breaking Henin in the second game en route to a 3-0 lead.
Henin put the set back on serve with a break in the fifth game, but Williams broke again for a 5-3 lead and a chance to serve for the match.
But inconsistency struck the American again, and she was quickly in a 0-40 hole. She battled back, with two stinging backhands and a service winner, and took the match with a line-kissing second serve on her first match point
Henin, who overtook Maria Sharapova atop the world rankings on Monday, had arrived in Miami buoyed by tournament victories in Dubai and Qatar.
Poised
The 24-year-old, who skipped the Australian Open in January because of personal troubles, had never made it past the quarterfinals in Miami, but appeared poised to make the most of her first finals appearance when she raced through the opening set.
Williams failed to muster even a game point on her own serve until the fifth game, when Henin battled back from 40-15 to get the break and serve for the set.
A forehand wide on her first set point was the first noticeable miscue from the Belgian, and Williams dug in to save two more set points before Henin pocketed the set when Williams fired a backhand wide.
"She's a real fighter," Henin said. "At the end she was better than me, she was really focused on every point. I gave my best but it wasn't enough."
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