This past Saturday Francesca Schiavone was consecrated as the first Italian woman tennis player to win a Grand Slam title, after beating Australian Samantha Stosur in the French Open final in straight sets 6-4, 7-6 (2), in one hour and thirty-eight minutes . At 29 years-old, the Italian Schiavone is the oldest woman to win a first Grand Slam title since Ann Jones won Wimbledon in 1976 at age 30. It is also the first Italian champion in Grand Slam since Adriano Panatta won the men's title in 1976.

This women's Roland Garros final was one of the finest matches played in nearly a decade . It was quite evident that both Schiavone and Stosur were delivering talent and excitement to the game. To reach the final the Italian and world No. 17 had to beat the Russian Elena Dementieva (5) and the Danish Caroline Wozniacki. The Australian on the other hand, had to beat four-time champion Justine Henin, top-seeded Serena Williams and former world number one Jelena Jankovic to get to the final.

These two players had faced each other on five previous matches since 2005. The Australian had dominated the series 4-1, after playing games on hard surfaces (three) and clay (two). But this was the biggest opportunity for the Italian.

In the first set, Schiavone was much more courageous, while Stosur was more technical. Both made mistakes on easy balls, especially Stosur in the ninth game, where she granted her first serve break with a double fault and gave the advantage to the Italian with a 5-4. The Italian won the first set with a score of 6-4 in 40 minutes.

During the second set, Stosur came out a little nervous. She was having difficulties holding her service. Nevertheless, she improved her play a bit, breaking the Italian’s serve and improving her service with a 4-1 score on her favor. However, Schiavone was impressively energetic and determine, and with great plays tied the game 4-4.

This parity was maintained in the second set. After a couple of very intense and demanding games the match was leveled 6-6, so they have to go to a tie-break.

In the tiebreaker, the Italian took all her determination to her side. She had her first match point after four successive winning shots. She hit a backhand into the corner and there was not much left for Stosur but to see how here rival started the celebration. At the end, the Italian won the tiebreak, the set and the match with a 7-6(2) score.

The winner recorded 65 percent of effectiveness in her service and had six perfect serves, while the Australian got three aces and made 28 unforced errors.

Moreover, during the end of the game and the trophy ceremony, the emotions and the tears of Schiavone, her coaches, friends and fans proved how much this win meant for the player and Italian tennis as well.

At the end of the match, Schiavone stated it was an emotional and incredible victory.

“This means that everybody has the chance to be who really you want to be, and to do everything in your life. This is what happened to me. You can arrive here if you really work hard and if you really have something special inside.”

“I was feeling much more energy, and more and more and more. I really felt that that one was my moment. I took it. I didn’t lose the chance,” Schiavone said.

The title came to Schiavone after reaching her participation No. 39 in a Grand Slam. On Monday, two weeks before her 30th birthday, the Italian will be the oldest woman in twelve years to enter for first time to the top ten world rankings. She is expected to be sixth in the WTA rankings.

About the Author

Ally White has been a prominent writer on daily Tennis Games reviews, sports news and sports betting industry updates for many exceptional sports web sites. You may reprint this article in its full content, please note no modifications to it are accepted.