Justine Henin-Hardenne survived three match-points to overcome Kim Clijsters 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 in a thrilling all-Belgian German Open final on Sunday.

Clijsters, who squandered her opportunities to seal victory, hit a backhand wide to bow out after two hours and 15 minutes of a close battle which could have gone either way.

The pair, warming up for the French Open starting on May 26, had never faced each other before in the final of a major event.

"It was an incredible week for me," said Henin-Hardenne , who successfully defended the title she won by beating Serena Williams in last year's final. "I just kept fighting, point after point, and now I've won it.

"Playing Kim is always special but this was really great."

By reaching the final, top seed Clijsters regained the world number two spot she briefly lost to Venus Williams.

"This is what you play tennis for," said Clijsters, who now leads Henin-Hardenne 7-5 after 12 meetings. "I lost but I enjoyed myself, really."

Both players struggled to hold serve in the first set, Henin-Hardenne opening up a 3-0 lead before Clijsters fought back to level it at 3-3.

Henin-Hardenne managed the telling break in the ninth game and then served for the set, taking it with her opponent hitting a backhand into the net.

Clijsters received medical treatment before the second set began and returned with a bandage around her upper left thigh.

The two traded breaks again early in the second set before the 20-year-old Henin-Hardenne, broke her 19-year-old opponent twice more to move 4-1 up.

Clijsters responded by taking the next five games and levelled the match when Henin-Hardenne firing a backhand long.

The decisive set was a tight affair with no break until Cljisters, leading 5-4, held three match points, which she squandered and was then broken in the next game before Henin-Hardenne served for the match.

Henin-Hardenne then held three match points and after she doubled faulted on the first, Clijsters presented her with victory with an unforced error on the second.

The Berlin tournament is now facing an uncertain future.