MELBOURNE, Jan 28 - Third seed Amelie Mauresmo
won the first set of the Australian Open women's singles final
6-1 on Saturday after dominating 2004 champion Justine
Henin-Hardenne in the early exchanges.
Mauresmo, beaten in the 1999 Melbourne final, raced to a
5-0 lead after breaking eighth seed Henin-Hardenne in the
second and fourth games, her second break coming on an
uncharacteristic backhand error by the Belgian.
The Frenchwoman then served out the set after 33 minutes on
Rod Laver Arena, Henin-Hardenne netting a forehand service
return on the final point.
Mauresmo is aiming to win her first grand slam title after
winning the WTA Championships in Los Angeles last November.
Eighth seed Henin-Hardenne was unable to defend her 2004 title
last year because of a knee injury.