Justine Henin-Hardenne recovered from a set down to claim the Hastings Direct International Championship at Eastbourne with a hard-fought victory over Anastasia Myskina.

The Belgian cemented her place as one of the favourites for Wimbledon with a 4-6 6-1 7-6 defeat of the Russian after she overcame a tie-break deficit in the final set to claim the £60,000 first prize.

It was the second three-set game for the 24-year-old in the space of two days after she had reached the final with victory over defending Kim Clijsters yesterday.

Henin-Hardenne had to battle for another two hours to see off the stubborn Myskina - just three minutes more than her match against Clijsters - and was sometimes outgunned by the Moscow woman's serve and double-handed backhand.

The third seed - also ranked third behind Amelie Mauresmo and Clijsters at Wimbledon next week - had to show resilience and strength as well as her varied array of ground-strokes.

But, already assured of becoming the first female player to earn US dollars two million, on the WTA Tour this year by virtue of appearing in this final, Henin-Hardenne claimed the title on her first appearance in the tournament - just as Clijsters did last year.

Myskina could easily have upset the odds, however, but having won the first set with an early break in the third game and another in the tenth after Henin-Hardenne broke her to love to make it 4-4, she could not go the extra mile against a player who had beaten her in their four previous clashes.

Henin-Hardenne changed her approach in the second set to reel off the first four games with far greater aggression and seemed to have the match tied up after a 22-minute set.

It could have gone either way in the decider as Myskina forged an early break to love but Henin-Hardenne broke back immediately and it was neck-and-neck right to the end before Myskina scooped the ball high off a deep drive to land in the net.