Henin closed out the victory with a forehand volley winner, then flipped her racket, buried her head in her hands, leaned on the net and exhaled.

"It's surreal to win for the third time in a row," the Belgian said. "I am struggling to take it in."

She became the first woman since Monica Seles in 1990-92 to win three consecutive Roland Garros titles, and only the second since 1937.

Serb teenager Ivanovic started well before her play deteriorated. Ivanovic committed 26 unforced errors to 13 for Henin and also double-faulted five times.

Henin won the French Open for the first time in 2003 and now has six Grand Slam titles, moving her ahead of Venus Williams and Martina Hingis. She trails only Serena Williams' eight among active women.

Henin won 1.34 million dollars – the same as for the men's champion. Ivanovic, the first player to represent Serbia in a major final, received 670,000 dollars.