Serena beats Safarova in Paris to claim 20th slam
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OVERCOMING a mid-match lull and a third-set deficit, Serena Williams won her third French Open title and 20th major singles trophy by beating 13th-seeded Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-2 yesterday.
The top-ranked Williams took the last six games and added to her championships on the red clay of Roland Garros in 2002 and 2013.
She stretched her grand slam winning streak to 21 matches, following titles at the US Open last September and Australian Open in January.
Only two women in the century-plus history of grand slam tennis have won more than the 33-year-old American: compatriot Margaret Smith Court with 24 titles, and Steffi Graf of Germany with 22.
This one, though, did not come easily for Williams, who double-faulted 11 times.
In what was a disjointed affair, the American was coasting to a straight-sets win, a set and 4-1 up against the Czech 13th seed, playing in her first grand slam final at the age of 28.
But a combination of serving woes for Williams and some top play from Safarova forced a third set, the fifth of the tournament for the American.
She fell 0-2 down in that, but recovered her composure in the nick of time to rattle off six games in a row for the title.
Women’s doubles final
For Safarova, who reached the final without dropping a set, the consolation will be her debut in the world top 10, at No. 7. And she has the women’s doubles final to follow today, playing with American Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
At 33 years and 254 days Williams is just nine days younger than was Martina Navratilova, who became the oldest Open-era grand slam winner at Wimbledon 1990.
She will now switch her focus onto Wimbledon which starts in three weeks where a title win would give her all four grand slam crowns at the same time — a feat she previously achieved when she won the 2003 Australian Open.
Earlier, 18-year-old Tommy Paul won the first all-American boys’ final at the French Open with a 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-2 defeat of second-seeded Taylor Fritz.
Paul, who learned his trade on the slow surface, became the sixth American boy to win the junior title in Paris. Among them was John McEnroe in 1977.
“Everyone says that US tennis is bad on clay,” said Paul, who was playing his first junior tournament of the year at Roland Garros. “I would have to disagree.”
There was a third American player in the semifinals of the boys’ tournament this year; Michael Mmoh lost in straight sets to Paul.
In the girls’ event, Spaniard Paula Badosa Gibert clinched the title with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Anna Kalinskaya of Russia.
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