Justine Henin-Hardenne beats fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters to win the French Open final.

Henin-Hardenne was always in control and won the first set 6-0, before holding off a brief Clijsters fightback to take the second 6-4.

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Belgium's King Albert II and Queen Paola attended the match, which was the first Grand Slam final to be contested by two Belgians.

Have your say on Henin-Hardenne's triumph

This debate is now closed. See below for a selection of your e-mails.

Hi everyone. I think Kim Clijsters never played her best on Saturday because she was nervous, because she was the hot favourite for the title.

The Belgian girls are now a threat to Venus because she is now the fourth in the world. But I think they all better watch out at Wimbledon, Venus will come back very hard and she might win the title.

I think this will be a Williams final because the grass season is not open for anyone; the Williams sisters have all the advantage because of their power. Justine might be favourite, but she will not walk away with the title. Serena will win from now on.
Jordon Williams, Oswestry, Shropshire, England

Kudos to Justine! She played very well against Serena and also against Kim. I'm really happy she won. And Kim was a very gracious loser. Serena should start improving her behaviour.
Junny

It won't take long until Kim also wins her first Grand Slam Niels, Belgium

Kim has not lost the final. It was Justine that won it. Kim has had her chances to break but she was denied by the best tennis I've seen from Justine in recent years. Her mother would be proud of her.
Maarten, Belgium (Flanders)

It's fantastic that Justine won the final, because of the whole story with her mother. But she really deserved it. I look forward to Wimbledon, and I think both girls will be playing well there. It won't take long until Kim also wins her first Grand Slam. Maybe Wimbledon or the US Open, because she is good on hard court. We'll see!
Niels, Belgium

I think it is really sickening how the comments never seem to veer from Venus and Serena Williams. What would women's tennis today be without either one of them? Why all the snide remarks? They were not born champions, they had to play their way through and suffer racism and everything else you can think about, to get to the top.

Their achievement is remarkable, Venus has four Grand Slams and has been in five other Grand Slam finals, including four consecutive finals. Serena has won five Grand Slams and four on the trot.

Let's quit this nonsense and just enjoy the game whoever wins. The truth is that their success does hurt the myth that black athletes cannot succeed in individual sports. And here you have two sisters coached by their black parents who never played tennis. If they were white athletes they will be celebrated over and over again.
Anselm Efe, Boulder, Colorado

Justine had a rendezvous with history that Saturday. Nothing Kim could have done to change that. She did manage to win the women's doubles finals, though, so I say the two young women played a fantastic tournament!
Garsett Larosse, Belgium

Great win for Justine. But now the tennis action is switching to merry old England. The Williams sisters will re-establish the true world order. Thank goodness for England and its wonderful tradition that is Wimbledon!
D-LO, Pensacola, Florida

Justine oozes class and is by far the most exciting in the ladies' game Martin, UK

I have no doubt that it would be all well and good for the majority of people who post here, if those two that contested the final were the two contesting all finals for years to come. However, don't hold your breath. Serena will be back to make your lives miserable once again.
Ernie, West Indies.

I remember when I first saw Henin play thinking that if she could only cut down on unforced errors, she could really be a force in the game. And now she has!

Clijsters clearly had an off day and I still regard her as mentally tougher, but she was magnanimous in defeat which made the final all the more touching. Henin is also a superb volleyer so I think she could perform better on grass than many suppose.
Nick, Hungary

Kim had a fairly easy route to the final and had no answer to Justine's mix of variety and power. She could not cope with Justine's first serve (only 53% of first serves in). Just imagine what it could be like on grass with a 75% percentage!

Justine has always had the talent, now she appears to have the physical and mental strength also. She oozes class and is by far the most exciting in the ladies' game.
Martin, UK

Brilliant display by Justine! I hope she continues to play that way or else she would soon suffer from Hingisitis.
Nii Davies, New York, USA

The young Belgians have put my focus back on tennis Sriram, India

Belgium to the top! Serena and Venus Williams won't be laughing anymore!
Jeroen, Belgium

I admire the talent and drive of the Williams sisters but it was a refreshing change to see someone else in a Grand Slam final, even if it wasn't that thrilling. I was pleased that Justine won since she strikes a blow for all of us scrawny girls out there!!
Susan, NYC, USA

Great win. It will help boost Henin-Hardenne and will do a lot for Belgian tennis. Serena Williams will have had a good lesson too.
Harry Firth, Cambridgeshire

I don't totally agree with Paul, Belgium, I think that they have closed the gap on Venus and Serena but only on clay (so far). It will be interesting to see how well Henin-Hardenne and Clijsters do against the Williams sisters on grass and other fast courts where their serves can dominate the games and their massive ground strokes can skid through the court even faster.
Ben, Coventry, England

Being a tennis fan for so many years now, I was beginning to lose interest, courtesy the absolute power show-off by the Williams. The young Belgians have put my focus back on tennis. Superb show.
Sriram, India

What a great match by Justine John, Spain

At least the final last year was better than last year. Last years were excruciating - so many errors, and too much nervousness. Not every final has to be exciting, though if Kim had played well, this could have been a classic. Let's hope Wimbledon, the best grand slam, can exceed the French open.
BP, UK

Justine was incredible! I wouldn't have stayed up last night if I didn't believe in her. She truly deserves this title. See you at Wimbledon.
Ching Perez, Philippines

Justine Henin-Hardenne was amazing! She has to be a serious contender to win Wimbledon this season.
Naresh, USA

Guess all of Kim's fans including myself will have to take back our comments regarding Justine Henin-Hardenne, she totally outclassed her opponent in all respects. Henin looked like a totally different player after she beat Serena in the semis; Kim was never in the game.
Zainub, Pakistan

What a great match by Justine, Kim had no chance, and what a great loser, Serena please learn.
John, Spain

Both Justine and Kim have diminished the gap with the Williams sisters Paul, Belgium

A star is born - Henin-Hardenne has always been the most talented player in the game, the belief winning her first grand slam title will give her means that the sky is now the limit. I think she will struggle to beat Serena on grass but on clay there is no reason why she shouldn't dominate for years to come.
Ben, UK

What a horrible final! We all used to complain about the boring Williams' matches but at least the last one was much more interesting than this!
Ricardo Molina, London, UK

Nice one Justine! I was expecting something a bit longer to say the least but I'm glad she won. But what happened to Clijsters??
Sarah, Bucks, UK

Both Justine and Kim have diminished the gap with the Williams sisters and they'll certainly make women's tennis attractive again over the years to come.
Paul, Belgium

Where was the dramatic encounter that would have made amends for the so called 'boring' finals we've seen the Williams sisters play? I didn't see a lot, but I am happy that Justine won today. It will give her more confidence and belief in her game.
Norris, USA

Henin-Hardenne proved she is currently the best player in the world on clay by successively beating the numbers one and two in the world on it. Keep it coming, Justine!
Jurgen, Belgium

I thought Kim Clijsters was in the final - where was she? Sarah L, UK

Well done Justine, a great victory in a great tournament. And sorry to Serena for the crowd's behaviour but Belgians are French friends and it's normal we support her. And we prefer the game of Henin; it's more technical than the bulldozer's game we are used to seeing (e.g. Williams and Mauresmo).
Luc, France

Henin was fantastic, playing an almost perfect match. All credit to her, Clijsters was too nervous and couldn't really get started, but you can't take anything away from Henin.
Ti, Milton Keynes, England

Well done Henin-Hardenne. It was far from a good match to watch, with very nervous play from both girls, but Henin-Hardenne just managed to show her greater court craft to win.

Roll on Wimbledon!
Ben, Coventry, England

Justine played out of her mind. She has such a different and beautiful style. Amazing player and a worthy winner!
Tristan, Belgium

I thought Kim Clijsters was in the final - where was she? You have to congratulate Henin-Hardenne; I don't think I've seen her play as well. Roll on Wimbledon because it could be interesting!
Sarah L, UK

Congratulations on a fine display of imaginative tennis by Henin-Hardenne. What puzzles me is that somebody five foot six is called diminutive?
Hazel, London

Henin-Hardenne has been a joy to watch over the past several years. I was in awe of her beautiful backhand. I knew that she was going to break out some time soon just because of her demeanour on the court - she is a very classy player.
Darrel Van Dyke, Coppell, Texas, USA