China’s long wait for a Grand Slam champion ended June 04, when Li Na beat Francesca Schiavone 6—4, 7—6 (0) in the French Open final.
The Australian Open runner—up fell flat on her back in the red clay after Schiavone hit a backhand long on match point.
The crowd at Roland Garros was dotted with red Chinese flags and a small vocal group supporting Schiavone. And despite dropping her serve for the only time late in the second set, Li won the final nine points of the match to earn her first major title. The title was only Li’s fifth in her career, and first on clay.
She was broken only once by the defending champion, while she converted two of her eight break points - one in each set. She finished with 31 winners, while Schiavone had only 12.
Li took a 3—2 lead in the first when Schiavone sent a forehand wide. She held at love in the next two games, and then won the set when Schiavone sent a forehand long.
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