Like many of the fine wines she collects, Amelie Mauresmo has grown better with age.

The 27-year-old Frenchwoman has endured stupendous collapses, humiliating losses at Roland Garros, and insults to her game, her muscular physique, and her no. 1 ranking. Now there are no more aspersions to cast upon her. She is the Wimbledon champion and the true world no. 1, and she earned it with gritty and stylish play, defeating one of the game’s great competitors, Justine Henin-Hardenne, 2–6, 6–3, 6–4.

A few observations from the final that were perhaps garbled en route from Centre Court to your television screen: Mauresmo was visibly tense in the first set, especially on her way to the net. She served pretty well, making 63% of her first serves. But Henin-Hardenne returned aggressively and consistently, while Mauresmo had hands of stone, losing eight of 13 serve-and-volley points and 10 of 16 points on which she approached the net.

To her credit, Mauresmo stuck with her plan and continued to attack. She made only 39% of her first serves in the second set, yet improved her winning percentage on serve points from 50% in the first set to 64% in the second. She served predominantly to Henin-Hardenne’s body, at times tying the Belgian’s hands. She volleyed better. By the third set, Mauresmo began serving with ease, making 22 of 26 first serves, winning 77% of her service points, and firing four aces, including two in the final game (not to mention a beautiful serve-and-volley point, finished with an authoritative backhand volley, to give her match point).

Most striking, though, was Mauresmo’s athleticism. It’s hard to understand how well the woman moves without ignoring the ball for a few points and staring instead at her feet. It’s not just that she sprints around the court and bounces energetically after she finishes her strokes. It’s how well she stops and changes directions, how well she recovers from awkward lunging positions, and how well she leaps (she hit two backhand overheads that seemingly put her in range of a onehanded dunk, despite standing only 5-foot-9). Perhaps the best example of her athletic gifts came after Henin-Hardenne’s final forehand error, when Mauresmo climbed into the stands and up to her box with the agility of a cat.

These traits are not new to Mauresmo. But now she has learned to keep those muscle-tightening nerves in check — or at least more so than in years past. Will she freeze up again in future tournaments or finals? Probably. She admitted as much when she said afterward, “that’s how I am, that’s how it is.”

For once, though, one can’t blame Mauresmo for being quite at ease with herself. The memory of this year’s Australian Open final, in which Henin-Hardenne retired to give Mauresmo the title, is gone, and Mauresmo is on top. This time, there’s no doubt that she deserves it.