Amelie Mauresmo lifted the Venus Rosewater Dish aloft and at long last banished the demons which have haunted her career.

Then, having beaten Justine Henin-Hardenne 2-6 6-3 6-4 to become the first Frenchwoman to win the Wimbledon singles for 81 years, she made a heartfelt request.

Mauresmo said: "It feels great. I wanted this trophy. But I don't want anybody to talk about my nerves any more."

It is impossible, however, to convey the magnitude of Mauresmo's Wimbledon triumph without reference to the years when her struggle with her emotions robbed her of tennis' greatest prizes.

After three losing Wimbledon semi-finals, another at the US Open and an agonising final loss at the Australian in 1999, when Martina Hingis infamously described her as "half a man", always it seemed she was destined to be the nearly woman.

Even when she won her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open back in January it came in unsatisfactory fashion, Henin-Hardenne being forced to retire during the second set with a stomach complaint.

This time there can be no debate. Mauresmo did it the hard way, fighting back from a set down, holding her nerve, staying true to her aggressive instincts.

She was assisted, however, by an opponent whose stomach was fine, but who contracted a nasty bout of 'forehanditis' during the second set.

Unforced errors just dripped off Henin-Hardenne's forehand and the video of this fluctuating match will make uncomfortable viewing.

Quite what happened to Henin-Hardenne, who had reeled off 17 consecutive matches without losing a set, including winning the French Open, is anyone's guess, although she put it down to "lost concentration".

The great scream Mauresmo let out after winning the first service game of the second set perhaps was a more telling part of the story.

It was a woman releasing her angst, ridding herself of the self-doubt which had shackled her game during that low-quality first set.

Mauresmo said: "I really felt I pumped myself up, yelled a bit and I was much more aggressive from the start of that second set.

"I'm very proud of the way I kept coming in even though it was not working too well in the first set. I wasn't feeling great, then suddenly it all came together."

The fact, however, is that this final will not go down as one of the classics.

Despite it being an intriguing throwback - two women with penetrating one-handed backhands, both eager to volley at the net - it was riddled with tension.

The first set was a one-way street, Mauresmo losing her serve in the first game, too often her talents frozen in the Centre Court sunshine.

Henin-Hardenne was barely troubled and it looked as if the Belgian only had to go through the motions to join the elite club of nine women who have won all four Grand Slams.

But tennis has a way of playing ping-pong with the mind more than any other sport.

And after that frantic scream the turnaround was uncanny.

Suddenly it was Henin-Hardenne who looked a bag of nerves, so much so that one serve in the second game of the second set bounced on her own side of the court.

The capricious breeze played its part, but so did the uncertainty howling through her head, much of it caused by Mauresmo's commitment to attack, to win it from the net.

Few women's finals have seen such hand-to-hand combat. Nathalie Tauziat against Jana Novotna in 1998 comes to mind. So does Martina Navratilova's last Wimbledon singles victory over Zina Garrison in 1990.

With the match all square at one set each we waited for the Mauresmo nerves to kick in. They never came, mostly because Henin-Hardenne was mistiming the ball so frequently on her forehand that the ball was flying into tennis' version of Row Z.

Even so Mauresmo still had to win it and the final game saw her power down two blistering aces. So much for the nerves which Mauresmo is so proud to have conquered.

She said: "Two aces on key moments. It's good to know you can rely on this big weapon.

"I was a little nervous on match point, which is understandable, but I finally found how to handle the nerves better. I know how to play tennis now.

"The criticism I've had didn't hurt because I was realistic and I could see the nerves got involved. That's how I am and that's maybe why it took me longer than the others.

"But it is very sweet. Maybe if it came the first time in a Grand Slam it would not have had the same taste. It is a special moment."

AMELIE MAURESMO FACTFILE

1979: Born, St. Germains en Laye (France), July 5.

1993: Turns professional.

1995: Wins first pro title at ITF event in St Raphael, France.

1996: Wins junior title at both the French Open and Wimbledon.

1998: Reaches first Tour singles final in Berlin, and is beaten by Conchita Martinez.

Makes it to the third round of both Australian and US Opens.

1999: As an unseeded player, reaches the Australian Open final, where she loses to Martina Hingis.

May - breaks into the world top 10.

Wins first tour title in Bratislava, defeating Kim Clijsters in the final.

Misses Wimbledon with an ankle injury.

2000: Misses US Open after back problem and then withdraws from season-ending Tour Championships because of a leg injury.

2001: Compiles a 16-match win streak to move back into the world's top 10 and overtake Mary Pierce as the France number one.

Reaches the fourth round of Australian Open, third round at Wimbledon and the quarter-finals of the US Open.

2002:

January - Australian Open quarter-finalist.

June - Beaten in fourth round at French Open.

July - Makes it to semi-finals of Wimbledon for the first time, losing to Serena Williams.

September - Beaten by Venus Williams in semi-final of the US Open.

2003:

June - Reaches last eight at French Open.

Misses Wimbledon through rib injury.

September - Quarter-finalist at the US Open.

November - Claims 10th career singles title in Philadelphia.

Leads France to only their second Fed Cup title in defeating USA 4-1.

Beaten finalist at the Tour Championships, losing to Kim Clijsters.

2004:

January - Withdraws from quarter-finals of Australian Open through injury.

June - Reaches last eight at Roland Garros.

July - Makes it to semi-finals again at Wimbledon, but is beaten by Serena Williams after holding a point for 4-1 second-set lead.

September - Beaten in the quarter-finals of US Open.

Becomes world number one for first time.

Collects silver medal at the Olympics in Athens, losing to Justin Henin-Hardenne.

2005:

January - Quarter-finalist at Australian Open.

June - Crashes out of French Open in round three to Ana Ivanovic.

July - Again throws away winning chance in the semi-finals at Wimbledon, this time beaten by Lindsay Davenport.

Makes the doubles final at the All England Club with Svetlana Kuznetsova.

September - Quarter-finalist at US Open

November - Wins first season-ending Tour Championships title, with victory over compatriot Mary Pierce.

2006:

January - Captures first Grand Slam title in Australia, after Henin-

Hardenne is forced to retire with a stomach bug.

February - Becomes fastest woman to earn 1million US Dollars in a season.

March - Returns to world number one spot.

June - Top seed at a Grand Slam for the first time, but upset in fourth round of French Open by Nicole Vaidisova.

July - Reaches first Wimbledon final with an epic three-set victory over former champion Maria Sharapova.

July 8 - Wins first Wimbledon singles title with 2-6 6-3 6-4 victory over Henin-Hardenne.