LONDON - Like a cherished bottle of wine, Amelie Mauresmo said the sudden fulfilment of her career tastes even better because the pleasure has been a few years coming.
The French 27-year-old's 2-6 6-3 6-4 victory over Justine Henin-Hardenne at Wimbledon on Sunday sealed a second grand slam title in six months after seven years of near misses and questions about her nerve.
"It is very sweet, I think," the world number one told reporters. "Maybe if it had come the first time I was in a grand slam final seven years ago, maybe it would have not had the same taste.
"Things come when they have to come. For a few months now it seems to be working pretty well for me.
"It seems that I've finally found how maybe to handle the nerves a bit better. I think everything is really coming together."
Her Australian Open title in January failed to silence her critics because she was gifted the final when Henin-Hardenne retired while trailing by a set and 0-2 because of illness.
She also had a stroke of fortune in the semi-final in Melbourne when Kim Clijsters retired injured.
Popular opinion said she was still a choker when it came to the biggest moments in her career.
Asked if it felt different holding aloft the Venus Rosewater Dish on Centre Court, she joked: "It's a different trophy. It's round, it's smaller," before adding: "Of course the way it ended is different, I had the final moment, the final point."
Sunday's match looked to be slipping away from the popular Mauresmo in a first set in which the tension got the better of her. However, this time she did not buckle.
"I was pleased the way I turned things around," she said. "You know, you're 6-2 down against Justine in the final of a slam, that's not a such great position!
"I really felt I pumped myself up. I let it out a little bit. I yelled a little bit. I was much more aggressive right from the beginning of that second set.
"I'm very proud the way I kept coming in to the net even though it didn't work very well in the first set.
"I was nervous on match point but I think that's understandable... I was just focussing on the game."
Mauresmo is a keen collector of wine, although she has not decided which one to open yet in celebration of her Wimbledon singles title -- the first by a Frenchwoman for 81 years.
"I haven't though about it. I was not too optimistic," she said. "We'll see when I get back."
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