Top seed Justine Henin won her second US Open with a 6-1 6-3 victory over Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Top seed crushes Kuznetsova in straight sets
Justine Henin claimed her second US Open title with a 6-1 6-3 victory over Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Top seed Henin had been in superb form throughout the tournament, cruising through the two weeks without dropping a set and dominating a one-sided final.
Kuznetsova - the champion at Flushing Meadows in 2004 - never recovered from losing her first two service games to immediately fall 3-0 behind.
The Russian fourth seed's chance to get back in the match came in the fourth game, but she wasted a break point to miss the opportunity.
That allowed Henin to hold serve and, two games later, close out the opening set 6-1.
The first three games of the second set went with serve before Henin won a lengthy fourth to secure a 3-1 lead.
She held that advantage at 5-3 and, after saving three break points in the ninth, sealed victory with a forehand drop volley.
Most important
"This one is maybe the most important one," said Henin, whose year began with a divorce and reconciliation with her family.
"I had a lot of things to prove to myself - not to anyone else, just to myself. And I did it.
"I'm just feeling happy. And the fact that I have my family back in my life helps a lot.
"They give me a lot of support. I'm feeling in peace with myself and that's a very important feeling for me."
More than a dream
Henin justified her status as world number one by adding the US Open crown to her French Open success earlier in the season, taking her total of grand slam titles to seven.
Her route to the final at Flushing Meadows was far from easy, the triumph over Kuznetsova followed victories against Serena and Venus Williams in the previous two rounds.
"Beating Venus, Serena, then to win this way today, gives me a lot of confidence," she added.
"When I was a little girl, I was dreaming of winning just one grand slam in my career and I won seven.
"It's still hard to believe that I did that. It's more than a dream."
