Julie on top of the world

The 29-year-old French sixth seed, whose achievements outside tennis include climbing Mont Blanc, scaled another mountain when she defeated Dominique Van Roost 7-6, 6-4 in the final.

The £53,684 cheque and a treasured golden trophy represent one of the biggest triumphs of her life.

The tears of joy welled up in the eyes of the world No.17.

Just over a week before she had cried tears of disappointment as she lost her Birmingham title.

"I was depressed. I wanted to win so badly. But now I am so happy," she said as she completed a hat-trick of career grasscourt singles titles.

"The last time I played singles at Eastbourne was nine years ago because I didn't play on grass as much and wanted a rest before Wimbledon. But it was a mistake to leave it such a long time.

"This is a very important win for me. It is my best ever, behind the Gaz de France tournament in Paris when I beat the No.4 and No.5 in the world.

"I like Eastbourne for sure. Every time you win somewhere you like it. I decided late to come to the tournament because I wanted to focus more on my singles play and get more match practice on grass after not doing very well at the French Open.

"Normally I play Birmingham and have a week's rest. I'm happy I changed my schedule. It was a good idea."

Her victory at Devonshire Park marks a high point since her comeback from an all-time low. She almost quit a year after her 1996 triumph in the French capital because of knee and wrist injuries.

"I had such problems. I was trying to keep fit by training but I couldn't play matches. Nobody could understand what was wrong with my knee. I also damaged my wrist. I missed most of the year. If it had gone on much longer, maybe for a year-and-a-half, I would have stopped completely."

But now Halard-Decugis is back at the top, thanks in part to her week on the Sussex coast, in which she even managed to defeat fellow French girl Nathalie Tauziat who had upset her so much in her book the Underside of Women's Tennis.

But she had to play a waiting game, along with sixth seed Van Roost, from Belgium, and the 5,500 fans who packed Devonshire Park's Centre Court.

The start of the match was delayed for half-an-hour due to rain. They got on court for 12 minutes and Halard-Decugis went 2-1, a break and 40-0 up before another rain delay of close to three hours.

The competitors watched TV, read newspapers and got bored, while referee Ann Jones, the 1969 Wimbledon champion, paddled around in her bare feet to test the around in her bare feet to test the state of the court.

On the resumption, Halard-Decugis promptly completed the game to go 3-1 up and it seemed smooth sailing in front of the hardy souls in the crowd, mostly of whom had stayed on.

The French player was aggressive, but her Belgium opponent's smooth groundstokes and ability to move the ball around, made for a fascinating struggle.

Van Roost broke back to level at 3-3 but surrendered her serve again as Halard-Decugis forced the errors to go 5-4 up. Jolly Julie was hitting crosshand forehand passes like they were going out of fashion.

But again 27-year-old Van Roost showed the battling qualities that got her through an exhausting semi-final against Luxembourg's Anne Kremer to break back before Halard-Decugis clinched the set in the tie-break 7-4.

The second set followed a similar pattern when Van Roost pulled back to 3-3 after going a break down, but the Belgium conceded her serve on a double fault. Halard-Decugis wobbled when she failed to serve out for the match. But the Belgian's erratic serve let her down again and, when she netted a forehand, it was all over.

The dark clouds, apart from a smattering, had held off and the French girl held her nerve.

The final, scheduled to start at 1.30pm, was completed at 6.30pm, but the quality of the tennis made up for all the inconveniences.

Halard-Decugis said: "It was dark and humid and I knew that if we didn't complete the game we would have to play again the following day. So I was relieved we could finish so I could rest before Wimbledon.

"I didn't worry about it being slippery and getting injured before Wimbledon. I was very happy to be there in the final.

Rush "I didn't want to rush things at the end because of the weather. When I rush I do not play good. I just focussed on my game."

Van Roost conceded she was beaten by a better player on the day. But a victory would have had poignancy. Van Roost lost her mother Louise to cancer in March and it would have been her first tournament title of the year.

But she is positive, having regained her professional concentration following her personal turmoil.

"My concentration is back. I beat Lindsay Davenport in Paris and since then I've felt much better. I was pleased I was able to keep a strong level of concentration at Eastbourne all week. I'm a lot more relaxed than a few months ago."

Dominique, married to Bart, said: "I was cold, but I'm sure everyone else felt it, and I began to feel a little tired after a long semi-final the day before."

Tauziat and Ai Sugiyama won the doubles when they defeated Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs. 2-6, 6, 6-3, 7-6