Francesca Schiavone lay on the court after defeating Samantha Stosur during their women’s final match at the French Open on Saturday.
PARIS – Italy’s Francesca Schiavone threw off conventional wisdom and upended Australia’s Samantha Stosur in a stunning victory, 6-4, 7-6 (2), to win the French Open women’s single-s title.

Despite Stosur’s vaunted twist serve and power strokes, Schiavone claimed the net at crucial moments, batting away volleys for winners and racing side to side for groundstrokes that took her to the top of the women’s game despite her 15th seeding.

Schiavone climbed into the stands to be engulfed in hugs and kisses from family and friends. She accepted the trophy from 1990 French Open winner Mary Pierce to thunderous applause on Chatrier Stadium court.

In the end, it was Schiavone’s ability to convert just one more service break than Stosur that led to the triumph. She won two of the seven break points she created, Stosur converted only one of the two she gained. Stosur’s 28 unforced errors played another role. Schiavone kept her total to 19.


Schiavone Wins |6-4, 7-6 (2)Schiavone takes the lead, 2-1, in the tiebreaker by holding on at every chance. Still, Stosur is trying to force the points and winning some, putting away a running forehand near the net. 2-1. Schiavone pulls ahead when Stosur retrieves a drop shot but stumbles trying to cross the court and Schiavone swats the ball away. 3-2 Schiavone. Then she attacks the net and puts away a forehand volley that Stosur can’t touch. It’s 4-2, Schiavone. She pumps her fist and the Italian cheering section stands up. Schiavone goes to 5-2 with a stunning forehand winner down the line. Again, Stosur can’t touch it. This could be the end for Stosur if she can’t regain stride. Schiavone makes it to match point with another drop shot volley that Stosur blocks out of court. Stosur takes her eye off the ball on the final point and the match is over. Schiavone, the improbable champion, drops on her back on the red clay.

Late Second Set |Stosur 6, Schiavone 5Stosur holds to go up, 5-4, but Schiavone can taste the possibility of a breakthrough and must decide whether to go for the lines or keep Stosur at bay with sharp angles. Stosur cooperates by hitting unforced errors that give Schiavone a 40-love lead. She wins the game at love with a finely placed forehand defensive shot that stays far beyond Stosur’s reach. It’s all even and the match culd depend now on whether Stosur or Shiavone loses focus.

Stosur slams a forehand winner down the line past a flailing Schiavone and regains the lead. This is a nailbiter.

Second Set |Stosur 4, Schiavone 4Stosur can’t keep up the pace. She falls behind, love-40 on her serve, giving Schiavone three chances to break back. On the first point, she rams her serve up the middle for unreturnable shot, then dumps an easy forehand approach shot far off court to yield back the service break. Both players are fighting on every shot. Sometimes the result is grand, sometimes it isn’t pretty. The result is a series of unforced errors that seem to take the steam out of the match. The baseline becomes a place from which players watch their opponent’s shots fly over. Schiavone ends the drought with a deftly placed forehand volley and a drop shot that Stosur pushes into the net. It’s an even match now, heading for a showdown somewhere soon with a possible match point at stake.

Middle Second Set |Stosur 4, Schiavone 1Both players seem to be faltering, missing easy shots that could extend rallies and test their opponent’s will to keep fighting. Lots of deep breathing.

The fourth game, Schiavone serving, seems jinxed with bad shots until both players stage a marathon rally ended by a crosscourt Stosur forehand winner that brings gasps from some spectators. Schiavone isn’t fazed, but isn’t able to recover quickly either, setting up a break point. She loses it immediately when Stosur drives the ball into the forehand corner and Schiavone tries to strongarm it back, slicing it wide. Stosur has gotten stronger and kept focused. With her serve, she can open daylight between her and Schiavone. Her reflex volley after chasing down a Schiavone backhand is a thing of desperate beauty. She wins that point and the next on a Schiavone forehand error. Then the Italian shows she’s truly rattled, whiffing a forehand service return so violently that the ball catches on her racket as her swing recovers. Stosur is headed for the gate.

Early Second Set |Stosur 2, Schiavone 1Stosur holds serve to start the set, her expression hard to read behind a pair of sunglasses. She needs to put the first-set loss far behind her, ridding herself of any disappointment. This was, after all, supposed to be her day. It’s not starting out the way she most certainly planned. On one service, she side peddles too slowly and finds Schiavone’s serve jamming her stomach. Swinging her racket only makes it worse as she sends the ball into the air just above the chair umpire’s chair. Point to Schiavone.

The most spectacular shot of the match so far finds its way to Stosur’s backhand smash, which drops into a corner far out of Schiavone’s reach. Then Schiavone attacks and wins a battle at the net with a backhand volley winner. Returning to the net on the next point, Schiavone jams Stosur at the baseline, and gains two break points, 15-40. Stosur wins the first with a forehand up the line that’s too far for Schiavone to track. Stosur wins the second break point with a reflex forehand that acts as a boomerang when Schiavone hits a rocket return. It’s deuce. This is a key game for Stosur and she rises to the task with a perfect backhand down the line that lands on the line. A point later, she regains the lead on an unforced backhand error by Schiavone.

End First Set |Schiavone 6, Stosur 4Stosur faces a test of mettle now, and starts out strongly, pulling ahead on two errors by Schiavone, but then the Italian counterattacks to pull even. She jams Stosur with a serve to the body to get to set point, then bounces the ball repeatedly before serving. Despite hitting a blistering serve to Stosur’s backhand, the shot comes back like a rocket and Schiavone can’t handle it. A moment later she races to net and puts away Stosur’s shot to get another set point. Stosur nets a backhand and the improbable Italian challenger has raced into a one-set lead. The Italian fans go wild.

Late First Set |Schiavone 5, Stosur 4Another serve and volley by Schiavone puts her at 40-30 and proves an effective way of blunting Stosur’s greater power. Schiavone slid forward in a lovely display of a backhand volley hit from a semi-kneeling position right at the net. Stosur had no chance. Game to the Italian. A moment later, Stosur races to net and blocks a backhand volley wide, losing a point she should have won. Schiavone jumps in with another race to the net and hits the same low volley for a winner, then turns and pumps her fist in exaltation. An Italian cheering section, dressed in black tee shirts, erupts in joy. Soon, Schiavone has break points at 15-40 on Stosur’s serve. Stosur double-faults at this critical moment and Schiavone pumps her fist again. She’s ahead and ready to serve for the set.

First Set |Stosur 4, Schiavone 3Schiavone passes the test, spinning an ace up the middle of the T to win her serve at love. Then she backs Stosur off the baseline with a picture perfect high backhand return to go up 30-love on Stosur’s serve. The Aussie retaliates with a strongarmed backhand that whips up the line for a winner. Then an ace. This is a fight. Stosur wins this round with a forehand up the left side of the court. Schiavone seems out of step and lets it pass.

The first serve-and-volley point goes to Schiavone, who pulls Stosur wide and pops a backhand volley back into the service court for a winner. That’s what the analyst Geoff Macdonald has said Schiavone must do to keep Stosur off balance. They trade unforced errors, Stosur slamming a forehand almost to the side box seats and Schiavone returning the favor by hitting a forehand into the net. Uneasy seems to be the emotion of the moment as they struggle for a groove. Schiavone gets the better of the action by sweeping her shots to the far corners of the court and forcing Stosur to run more than she’d like. Uneasy, too, when Stosur smacks an easy overhead 10 feet beyond the baseline. Schiavone dawdles too long when she muscles a backhand service return that sails high. Stosur clubs it for a winner to take the game and jump ahead.

Early First Set |Stosur 2, Schiavone 1Stosur makes it look easy, winning her serve at love in the first game. Schiavone, nervous, slaps a forehand into the net for the final point. Now, the Italian, dressed all in white, hits an ace on her firsts serve to the Australian, dressed in navy blue. Stosur gives her opponent a glimpse of power stroking, driving a forehand cross court with such speed that Schiavone can’t land a racket on it. But she gets plenty of string on a forehand winner down the line to take her first service game. It’s even.

Stosur has hit two spectacular running forehands, one to each corner, to take the lead as she demonstrates a control of points that makes Schiavone look a little uncertain. Now the pressure passes to Schiavone, who must win her serve to keep pace.