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Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Serena Williams defeated Justine Henin to win her fifth Australian Open title and become the first woman to repeat as champion since 2002.

The top-seeded Williams had 12 aces as she defeated the unranked Belgian 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 at Rod Laver Arena to move to 5-0 in finals at the season-opening tennis Grand Slam.

The victory gives the 28-year-old Williams 12 Grand Slam singles titles, tying her with fellow American Billie Jean King for sixth place on the career list and leaving her halfway to Margaret Court’s record 24 championships.

“Billie, we’re tied, so I’ve reached my goal,” Williams said, looking up at King in the stands after accepting the winner’s trophy from Court.

Williams, who fought back from 6-4, 4-0 down in her quarterfinal against No. 7 seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, improved her record at Melbourne Park to 51-6 to become the first woman to repeat as Australian Open champion since Jennifer Capriati in 2002.

In taking this year’s title, Williams broke her streak of winning in Melbourne in alternate years following her first championship in 2003. It also moved her one ahead of Court, Evonne Goologong Cawley, Steffi Graf and Monica Seles for the most Australian Open titles since professionals first were admitted in 1969.

Henin, a seven-time Grand Slam champion, had been seeking to win the title in only her second tournament since ending a 20-month retirement. Henin, who quit when ranked No. 1, needed a wild-card invitation from organizers because she hasn’t played enough events to qualify for a ranking.

Hard Work

“I also know the way is still long in terms of where I want to go as a tennis player, and I know I’ll have to work harder,” Henin said told reporter. “And I’m gonna do it, for sure.”

Williams opened the match with an ace, and built a 4-1 lead. Henin fought back to 4-4 before Williams won the last two games to capture the first set.

That was an ominous sign for Henin. Williams came into the match with a 40-0 record when she won the first set at the Australian Open.

Henin revived in the second set, winning the last four games to even the match. She won the last 10 points of the set, including consecutive breaks of Williams’s serve.

Williams broke Henin’s serve three straight times in the final set, and then served out the match with two aces in the final game.

Right Shot

“She plays the right shot at the right time,” Henin said. “She served great at that time. After that, mentally was a little bit harder to stay in the match.”

Williams sank to the court, then went to the players’ box to kiss her mother, Oracene Price, and to hug her sister, Venus, and yelling “WHEW” into the Melbourne night.

After losing the second set and the first game of the third set, Williams said she knew it was time to raise her level of play.

“I thought I just got to man up, this is my chance, no matter what I just have one more set,” she said in a courtside television interview. “I was thinking, ‘OK, Serena, you can have some days off.”

In the men’s final tomorrow, top-seeded Roger Federer of Switzerland will seek his fifth Australian Open title and record 16th major championship. He’ll play fifth-seeded Andy Murray, who is trying to become the first British man in 74 years to win a Grand Slam singles title.

First Major Meeting

Today’s final was the 14th career meeting between Williams and Henin, whose rivalry dates to the 2001 U.S. Open. Williams now leads 8-6 after winning their first matchup in a Grand Slam final.

Williams, playing with bandages on her right thigh and left calf, was back on Rod Laver Arena after yesterday pairing with sister Venus to win the women’s doubles title for the second year in a row.

Henin, 27, was the second straight wild-card entry from Belgium to reach a Grand Slam women’s final. Kim Clijsters won September’s U.S. Open in her first major after returning from retirement. Until Clijsters’s run to the title in New York, no wild card had gone beyond the semifinals at a major.

“It’s been very emotional two weeks for me, I thought it would never happen again,” Henin said after accepting the runner-up trophy. “I’ll see you next year.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Rob Gloster in San Francisco at rgloster@bloomberg.net; Dan Baynes at Melbourne Park at dbaynes@bloomberg.net