Henin-Hardenne holds nerve to outlast Seles

After saving a match point in the second set, Justine Henin-Hardenne went to win her first title of the year last night, edging past Monica Seles, 4-6, 7-6, 7-5, in the final of the Dubai Duty Free Open.

Seles, the fourth seed, was broken serving for the match at 5-4 in the third set and saved three match points in the 12th game before netting a backhand under pressure after two hours and 45 minutes.

There were five breaks in the opening set, Seles winning the concluding four games, helped by her opponent's double-faults. Although matching Seles shot-for-shot in the rallies, Henin-Hardenne, the top seed, continued to tighten when serving, double-faulting for the fifth time to give Seles a 3-1 lead in the second set.

Henin-Hardenne broke back to love in the next game, but two more double-faults gave Seles the intiative in a lengthy ninth game. The American created the first match point at 30-40, only to net a backhand after an intense rally, and Henin-Hardenne went on to win the tie-break, 7-4. The Belgian had the better of five break in the final set.

The 46-year-old Martina Navratilova won her third doubles title in seven weeks - including the mixed doubles with India's Leander Paes at the Austraslian Open - by partnering Svetlana Kuznetsova, of Russia to a 6-3, 7-6 victory against Cara Black, of Zimbabwe, and Elena Likhovtseva, of Russia. It was Navratilova's 168th women's doubles title, one more than her number of singles championships.

Tim Henman, the British No 1, is due to play the 102nd-ranked Attila Savolt, of Hungary, in the second match of his comeback from shoulder surgery. Henman lost to Ivan Ljubicic in his opening match in Rotterdam last week, and the Croatian may be waiting for him in the second round of the men's Dubai Open. Henman is projected to meet Roger Federer, the Swiss top seed, in the semi-finals, and Russia's Marat Safin in the final.