MELBOURNE, (Reuters) – Serena Williams defeated  Belgium’s Justine Henin 6-4 3-6 6-2 yesterday to win the  Australian Open for the fifth time after a match of unrelenting  tension between the two best players of their generation.

The American weathered the storm after Henin sent the match  into a deciding third set to wrap up victory after two hours and seven minutes and retain the title she won last year.

“It was a great final and it could have gone any way,”  Williams said after receiving the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup from Margaret Court, who won a record 24 grand slam singles  titles.

Both players were suffering from nerves at the start then  battling exhaustion at the end but still managed to provide the  packed Melbourne Park centre court crowd with some exquisite shotmaking and intense drama in their first grand slam final meeting.

Williams, wearing a citrus-coloured outfit, thumped down 12  aces and 32 winners while Henin provided a reminder of the form that earned her seven grand slam titles, including the 2004  Australian Open, with 28 winners of her own.

“It was definitely a tough match mentally and physically,”  she told a news conference.

“I felt like we both were out there trying to kind of prove  something. I think we both did at the end of the day.”

Despite the loss, it was a personal triumph for Henin, who  only returned to the professional circuit this month after  quitting the game in May 2008.