PARIS — With the performance of a lifetime, Francesca Schiavone became the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam title by beating Samantha Stosur 6-4, 7-6 (2) in the French Open final Saturday.
The veteran rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the second set, then took the clinching tiebreaker with a succession of brilliant shots that was topped only by her exuberance.
When she had won, she fell onto her back, then rolled over and kissed the clay. She rose covered with dirt, hugged Stosur and broke into a champion’s grin, then trotted over to the wall behind the baseline and climbed it for a group hug with her supporters.
“The passion came through,” 18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova said. “She wanted it. She wanted it badly. She was going to die on that court if she had to.”
Mary Pierce, the 2000 champion, presented Schiavone with the Suzanne Lenglen Cup.
“You give me a great trophy,” Schiavone told her. “I feel amazing.”
Before leaving the court, Schiavone took a call on a cellphone from Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. She quoted him as saying, “Congratulations. Enjoy this moment. It was an honor for Italy.”
At 29, Schiavone became the oldest woman to win her 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.
Schiavone was seeded 17th. The only other time the title has been won by a woman not seeded in the top 10 was in 1933.
“Everybody has the chance to be who you really want to be, and do everything in your life,” Schiavone said. “This is what has happened to me.”
This was the best women’s final in nearly a decade at Roland Garros, and the quality of play climaxed in the tiebreaker.
Schiavone reached match point by hitting four successive winners, the last a lunging backhand volley, and she exulted after every one.
“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.”
On match point, Schiavone hit a backhand into the corner with so much spin it deflected off Stosur’s racket, and the real celebration began.
Both players were first-time Grand Slam finalists, but there were few signs of jitters. Schiavone certainly looked relaxed — during one changeover break she laughed as her fans chanted.
In the men’s doubles, Serbia’s Nenad Zimonjic teamed with Daniel Nestor of Canada to beat Leander Paes of India and Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic 7-5, 6-2.
