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Four titles on the red clay: Henin untouchable at Roland Garros

For her part, like Kim Clijsters (2003), Mary Pierce (2005), and Svetlana Kuznetsova (2006) did before in RG finals, Ivanovic melted away. She was never in the match, as her hands shook and she couldn't unleash any decent serves or returns, or keep her ground strokes in the court. As good as the 19-year-old Serbian is and may become, she showed little aptitude for the big stage, unable to calm herself down and find an appropriate rhythm.

Ivanovic finished the match with 26 unforced errors to 13 from Henin, and only managed to win 45 percent of her service points.

"I was really nervous and it was very tough for me," Ivanovic said. "But she played some really good points and she's a great champion. I hope there are many more finals to come."

Maybe, and hopefully she'll get another shot at Henin somewhere else, but the Serbian has a long way to go before she'll convince anyone that she's ready to put on a rousing show at a major. The last Roland Garros final-round debutante to fail so poorly in the final was Elena Dementieva, who was destroyed by Anastasia Myskina in the '04 final, and she was a good deal older than Ivanovic was. Dementieva reached the US Open final two-and-a-half months later, but still couldn't produce her highest level against Kuznetsova and was taken down easily. She remains Slam-less.

No standout player still around today has gone down so quietly in her maiden debut - not Henin, Kuznetsova, Serena or Venus Williams, Martina Hingis, Mary Pierce, Kim Clijsters, Amelie Mauresmo nor Maria Sharapova. While it's too early to say that the loss will severely affect Ivanovic, there is room for concern.

On a personal level, the intense and much put-upon 25-year-old Henin appears to have turned the corner emotionally, as for the first time in her career, she invited  siblings into the Friend's Box. All looked quite pleased at her performance, frequently smiling and clapping furiously. Henin - whose mother Francoise passed away when she was 11 - had been estranged from her family since 2000.

"It's important to me," said Henin, who has been separated from her husband, Pierre Yves Hardenne, since January. "It's been seven years now and it's great to have them back. Love is important, life is short and you need to enjoy your time."

Henin has now won six Slams, four of them in Paris. In her four title runs in the City of Light, she hasn't dropped a set and has lost only 13 games.

But now a bigger task lies ahead - winning the one major crown that eludes her: Wimbledon. She reached the final there twice, falling to Venus in 2001 and to Mauresmo last year. She has the all-around game to take the crown and shouldn't be too tired after a fairly simple run physically through the French Open field. But her other main rivals - the Williams sisters, Sharapova and Mauresmo - are much more formidable on grass than on dirt. It will be up to Henin to make a huge push at the net.

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