MELBOURNE (Reuters) -- Third seed Amelie Mauresmo won her first grand slam title when Justine Henin-Hardenne retired from the Australian Open women's singles final because of illness on Saturday.

Mauresmo, the 1999 Melbourne runner-up, won the first set 6-1 after dominating the early exchanges and led 2-0 in the second when Henin-Hardenne pulled out.

"It's been a very long time," Mauresmo said after lifting the trophy in her 32nd grand slam tournament.

"It was a surprise for me also," she said of her opponent's retirement.

The Frenchwoman raced into a 5-0 lead after breaking eighth seed Henin-Hardenne in the second and fourth games of the first set, the second one coming after an uncharacteristic backhand error by the Belgian.

Mauresmo served out the set after 33 minutes on Rod Laver Arena, Henin-Hardenne netting a forehand service return on the final point.

She grabbed another service break in the opening game of the second set but Henin-Hardenne was clearly struggling and could go no further, retiring after 52 minutes.

"I'm feeling very disappointed to lose the tournament this way," Henin-Hardenne said. "I'm feeling so sick, I couldn't stay on the court any more. It's very frustrating that it ends this way."

The Belgian called for assistance from a trainer after winning a long rally in the second game of the second set. She went back out on the court and played two more points before deciding she could not continue.

Mauresmo made the final as an unseeded 19-year-old in 1999 but lost to former world number one Martina Hingis. She had not got past the semifinals of a grand slam in the seven years since.

French Open champion Henin-Hardenne was unable to defend her 2004 Australian Open title last year because of a knee injury but was installed as a clear favorite with bookmakers after winning the Sydney International two weeks ago. Henin-Hardenne became the first woman to retire from the final of a grand slam tournament in the Open era.

She was also the third opponent to pull out of a match against Mauresmo during the tournament.

Second seed Kim Clijsters of Belgium pulled out of their semifinal after injuring her ankle with Mauresmo leading 5-7 6-2 3-2, and unseeded Dutch teenager Michaella Krajicek retired suffering heat stress after the first set in the third round.

In 1965, Brazilian Maria Bueno pulled out of her Australian Open final against Australian Margaret Court when she was behind in the third set. Court won the following year on a walkover.

Swede Stefan Edberg pulled out of his Australian Open final against Ivan Lendl in 1990 with Lendl leading 4-6 7-6 5-2.