NEW YORK -- On Friday night, Justine Henin-Hardenne played the best match of her life, all things considered, defeating Jennifer Capriati in a wrenching 3-hour and 3-minute semifinal. She took treatment for an injured thigh and absorbed several vats of IV fluids before leaving around 3 a.m. Saturday morning.

	Justine Henin-Hardenne celebrates winning her second Grand Slam title of the year.

Unfortunately for Henin-Hardenne, the final was scheduled to start 17 hours later, after three days of rain destroyed the U.S. Open schedule.

"Last night, when I got off the court, I didn't know what to expect," Henin-Hardenne said. "I felt so bad."

Time and again, Henin-Hardenne has proved this year that her biggest weapon is not her sublime backhand, but her heart. Meanwhile, fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters has noticeably tightened up -- some have suggested the Heimlich Manuever is the only appropriate antidote -- in big moments.

But did Henin-Hardenne leave too much out on the court against Capriati? Would that create enough of an opening for Clijsters to step through and win her first Grand Slam?

Uh, no. You were thinking, maybe, that she was, like human?

Summoning reserves from unimagined places, Henin-Hardenne won the all-Belgian final handily, 7-5, 6-1. It was the second Grand Slam singles title of her career -- and the second in three events. When this one was over and the crowd of 21,808 at Arthur Ashe Stadium was on its feet, nobody was thinking about the injured Williams sisters.

"Today, I knew that I wasn't going to let this match go," Henin-Hardenne said. "These kind of matches, I couldn't finish that one last year ago. Maybe I arrived a little bit later from the other players, but winning two Grand Slams at 21, I think it's great.

"It gives me a lot of confidence for the rest of my career."

But what will this match do for Clijsters' confidence? Truth be told, Henin-Hardenne did not so much win this championship as much as Clijsters lost it. Unforced errors, the window to the nervous soul, told the story. Clijsters had a staggering 40 -- in 19 games.

The career series between them is now tied at eight, but Henin-Hardenne, since saving three match points in Berlin back in May, has won four of five.

"I was definitely a little more nervous; it's why I had a slow start at it," Clijsters said. "She's a very fit player, I think she had enough time to recover. She moved really well tonight. It shows how good of an athlete she is.

"I played an opponent who was the best one out there today, the best one out of the whole tournament. Justine was just too strong. She just dealt with it really well."

Saturday's first news item was an ominous report from the USTA that termed Henin-Hardenne as "questionable," as though she were an NFL running back. She finally fell asleep in her hotel at 3:45 a.m., but woke up at 8:30 with the Capriati match in her mind. For three hours she tried to sleep, but the looming final with Clijsters wouldn't allow it. Somehow, she managed to drag herself onto Center Court at the appointed hour. It was a rematch of the French Open back in early June, when Clijsters was humiliated 6-0, 6-4. It was an eerie echo of the Australian Open semifinal when Clijsters was ahead of Serena Williams 5-1 in the third set and lost six straight games.

The same scenario unfolded again when Henin-Hardenne broke Clijsters in the opening game -- at love -- and again in the third. But Clijsters didn't disappear. This time, she broke back twice and found herself with herself with a pair of set points -- on Henin-Hardenne's serve.

Impossibly, Henin-Hardenne and her heavy feeling legs survived. She pulled out her first ace of the match at 15-40, then Clijsters hit a tentative backhand long. It was happening again; at crunch time, Henin-Hardenne was stepping up and Clijsters was stepping out. When Clijsters hooked a forehand wide, Henin-Hardenne had drawn even at 5-all.

In retrospect, those two set points were Clijsters' slender opening -- and she didn't take advantage. What followed couldn't have surprised anyone.

Clijsters lost the first three points on her serve and Henin-Hardenne took a 6-5 lead with a sweet backhand winner. On set point, Clijsters' deteriorating forehand found the net again and Henin-Hardenne was the one who looked energized.

The second set? A snapshot will suffice:

Having already broken Clijsters once, Henin-Hardenne pressed her next service game. When Clisters tried a dropshot, Henin-Hardenne sprinted to the left front of the court and pushed back an odd-looking scoop lob to the right. It cleared Clijsters and dropped neatly in the corner for another winner.

Match point, a swinging forehand winner, confirmed the obvious: Henin-Hardenne is the most mentally tough player in tennis. She's now the No. 2-ranked player on the WTA Tour, behind only Clijsters. Rankings aside, Henin-Hardenne and Serena Williams each have two Grand Slam titles this year, which means the year-end championship could decide things, provided Williams returns from knee surgery in time to play.

Even when the JP Morgan Chase suit with the microphone introduced the champion to the crowd as "Christine," Henin-Hardenne could not be deterred. "What I did last night was great, simply great," Henin-Hardenne said, referring to the Capriati match. "I never really played well at the U.S. Open. And I came this year, didn't know what to expect. Just I knew I was different player from last year, from the years before.

"Maybe it means the French Open wasn't an accident. It's great confirmation."

Greg Garber is a senior writer at ESPN.com.