Henin topples Stosur for first title in comeback season

Justine Henin captured her first title since ending her retirement with a three-set victory over Samantha Stosur in the final of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.

The Belgian star notched a 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 triumph on Sunday for the 42nd title of her career and first in five tournaments since coming out of a nearly two- year retirement.

Henin was the top-ranked player in the world when she decided to retire in May of 2008, and last September announced her return for the start of 2010. She hasn't missed a beat.

Her first two tournaments ended with losses in the final -- to fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters in the Australian Open tuneup in Brisbane and to Serena Williams at the Aussie Open.

Sunday's win will likely vault Henin into the top 20 when the new rankings are released Monday and also sends a message to the rest of the WTA Tour that she is ready for the French Open, which starts later this month.

Four of Henin's seven Grand Slam titles have come on the famed red clay at Roland Garros. She has also won each of the last three French Opens in which she's played and said her desire to return began with watching last year's proceedings from Paris.

"When I saw Roger Federer winning the French Open...it brought back the fire that wasn't there anymore before," Henin said Sunday. "It has been a lot of work but I'm ready for it. It's great to be back and share these emotions with all of you guys. I had a fantastic week. Everything was perfect."

On Sunday, though, Henin had to rebound from a difficult second set and did so with a dominant third to win the Stuttgart crown for a second time. She also claimed the title in 2007 and was a runner-up in both 2001 and 2003.

Stosur, meanwhile, lost on clay for the first time in 12 matches this year. The rising Australian star won the title in Charleston last month and also won a pair of Fed Cup matches on the surface this year.

"Justine was just too good today," said Stosur. "In the third set she just got really aggressive, made some really good returns and put me under a lot of pressure. I think that was the key to the match. She broke me three times in a row. It was nice to come back here after a few years of not playing here."

Sunday's win earned Henin a first prize of $107,000.