ZURICH (AFP) -- Justine Henin claimed her ninth title of the year on Sunday when she defeated unseeded Tatiana Golovin of France 6-4, 6-4 in the final of the Zurich Open.

The match was a repeat of their final in Stuttgart just two weeks ago, which the top-seeded Belgian won in three sets.
Henin has now won 20 consecutive matches, stretching back to her loss to Marion Bartoli in the Wimbledon semifinals. The last player to achieve 20 victories was Kim Clijsters who won 21 matches in 2005.
""It was a tough start for me,"" said Henin, who revealed she had taken a painkiller during the match after hitting herself in the ribs on Saturday.
""She played very well in the first few games and she put a lot of intensity. My legs were still feeling pretty sore from yesterday and I really needed a little bit of time to come into the match.
""I was consistent with my serve in the second set and I played very well at the end of the first, so it's good. And I beat my record of 2003 with nine titles so I'm pretty happy.'
Despite her defeat, Golovin has earned an impressive 15 victories in her 18 matches played since the U.S. Open, taking her to a career-high ranking of 13.
She is now the second-ranked player in France, passing Amelie Mauresmo and behind Wimbledon runner-up Marion Bartoli.
The opening game lasted 10 minutes as Golovin fought off three breakpoints, and Henin also resisted a break point in the second game before Golovin broke her to lead 3-1.
The French teenager then came close to wrapping up the set when she led 4-2 and came within two points of breaking Henin a second time. Instead, it was the Belgian who earned a break in the seventh game when Golovin hit an awkward backhand wide.
Henin had looked fragile and inconsistent up until that stage, but she began to play with more confidence and conviction, and a second break left her leading 5-4.
The trainer was called to the court to bandage Golovin's left foot and to give Henin a pill, and Henin then served out the set.
Three consecutive breaks of serve to begin the second set left Henin leading 2-1, the final break coming when Golovin mis-hit a backhand after Henin's return hit the edge of the sideline.
Golovin also faced three more break points at 3-1, but although she saved those she no longer looked capable of turning the match around. Games went easily with serve until the end, when Henin closed out her victory with an ace.
Henin added: ""It was an important game at 4-2 in the first, and the passing shot I did changed a little bit the way I played after. It's been good. Even if I didn't play my best tennis I could always see what I wanted to do and move much more forward than I did yesterday.""
Golovin said she had learned a valuable lesson from the match.
""She started off really strong,"" said the Frenchwoman.
""In the first game she was really trying to hit the ball and trying to put pressure on me, because I think she didn't want the same thing to happen like in the first set in Stuttgart.
""After I went up 4-1, I think that's where I need to deal with these situations better, because she's obviously number one in the world and she doesn't want to lose so she's going to change and adapt to get back in the match.
""I just kind of stayed the same and that's why I ended up losing, because she changed something and I didn't. I think that's what I need to focus on now against the top players. If I'm up in a match and a player changes something, I need to adapt to that as well.""