But Henin-Hardenne, who beat her top-seeded compatriot 6-0 6-4 to secure her first Grand Slam title in Paris, again had the upper hand over an opponent who made far too many unforced errors.

Henin-Hardenne got off to a flying start with a couple of service breaks to go 3-0 up in the opening set but Clijsters clawed her way back to 4-4 thanks to some powerful baseline hitting.

However, the world number one’s mistakes returned in game 11 as Henin-Hardenne secured her third break and then served out for the set as a Clijsters forehand went tamely into the net.

Clijsters had no answer as Henin-Hardenne turned up the heat even further to go 4-0 ahead in the second set with another couple of breaks.

The top seed did manage to hold her serve in game five but Henin-Hardenne was soon on the brink of victory and one final break wrapped it up.

Clijsters finished with 40 unforced errors and four double faults.