Francesca Schiavone beat Samantha Stosur in the Women’s French Open 2010 final Saturday afternoon to became the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam title.
Schiavone won in straight sets 6-4, 7-6 (7-2). Schiavone rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the second set, then took the clinching tiebreaker with a succession of brilliant shots. Francesca was pumped, threw uppercuts, put her fists to her face and skipped about the court.
And when she had won the French Open, she fell onto her back, then rolled over and kissed the clay.
“I was feeling much more energy, more and more and more,” she said. “I couldn’t stop it. I really felt that was my moment, and I took it. I didn’t lose the chance.”
Mary Pierce, the 2000 champion, presented Schiavone with the Suzanne Lenglen Cup. “You give me a great trophy,” Schiavone told her. “I feel amazing.”
29-year-old Schiavone (pronounced Skee-ah-VOH-nay) became the oldest woman to win first Grand Slam title since Ann Jones at Wimbledon in 1969 at age 30. She’s the first Italian Grand Slam champion since Adriano Panatta won the French Open men’s title in 1976.
Meanwhile, “I’m disappointed,” the Australian Stosur said, her voice breaking. “It’s a big journey and a great two weeks. You want the full fairy tale, but it didn’t quite happen.”
“I don’t think I played that bad,” Stosur said. “She just had her day. She went for it. It takes guts to do that. Well done to her.”
Don’t forget to watch French Open 2010 Men’s Finals – Nadal vs Soderling Live Stream Sunday, June 6th 9PM ET, at the link provided.
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