A heart-breaking penalty shoot-out took some of the gloss off football fan Amelie Mauresmo's Wimbledon triumph. In her victory speech, Mauresmo expressed the hope that her success at the All England Club would act as an inspiration to her country's football team. She rushed her Press conference earlier in the week so that she could watch the semi-finals and delayed her arrival at the traditional Wimbledon Ball to take in part of the final. Perhaps the footballers could have learned a crucial lesson from their nation's tennis heroine, who successfully won her battle with nerves to become the first Frenchwoman for 81 years to win "the most prestigious tournament in the world." Written off as a "choker" after losing at the semi-final stage at Wimbledon in three of the previous four years, the suspicions grew when she was beaten, as the No 1 seed, in the fourth round at her home Grand Slam tournament at Roland Garros a month earlier to 17-year-old Nicole Vaidisova. But she finally came good with a 2-6 6-3 6-4 Centre Court victory over French-speaking Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne to add the Venus Rosewater Dish to the Australian Open crown she lifted in Melbourne six months ago. "I learned from experience," she said. "I tried taking things a little differently, to see tennis differently and not put as much pressure on myself. "I have finally found how to handle the nerves. I think everything is really coming together." Henin-Hardenne retired through illness early in the second set of the Australian Open and this time fatigue played a crucial role as the little Belgian was left still searching for the Wimbledon title that would complete a career Grand Slam. "I played in five of the last six weeks and now I'm very tired," she said. "I have no regrets, I played generally very good tennis. "It's a bit hard to lose in the final here but I played a lot so now I will need a break." | 
