Return Winners: The 2010 WTA French Open final

Who knew what to expect from a 2010 Grand Slam final featuring two debutants—one of whom is still chasing the French Open crown this year?

Going into the 2010 French Open final, it would’ve been hard to bet against Serena Williams, who had won three of the past five Grand Slams. Another contender for the title, Justine Henin, was making her return after a nearly two-year absence and Svetlana Kuznetsova, the defending champion, was also in the mix.

No one could have expected the No. 7-seeded Samantha Stosur and No. 17-seeded Francesca Schiavone to battle their way to the final. And it wasn’t a matter of upsets clearing the way: These two did all the heavy hitting to carve their own paths.

Stosur’s march picked up steam with a win in the fourth round against Henin, handing the Belgian her first French Open loss since 2004. Then, in the quarterfinals, she defeated Williams 8-6 in the third set. The Australian then demolished the fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic in the semifinals to reach her first Grand Slam singles final.

Meanwhile, on the bottom half, Schiavone defeated Li Na in the third round in straight sets. Another high seed, No. 3 Caroline Wozniacki, also fell in straight sets to Schiavone in the quarters, making Schiavone the first Italian woman to reach a Grand Slam semifinal. Her next opponent, Elena Dementieva, had to retire with an injury and Schiavone’s landmark run for Italian women reached the final stage.

Right off the bat, Schiavone made it evident that she wasn’t going to be trading groundstrokes with the more-powerful Stosur. The Italian’s variety and willingness to rush the net paid off to secure the set, 6-4.

In the second set, Stosur—who rode her big-kicking serve and bludgeon of a forehand through the draw—took charge early, working her way to a 4-1 lead. In the next game, though, Schiavone managed to get the break back, and the pair eventually found themselves in a tiebreak. Schiavone stormed ahead, and had a handful of match points at 6-2. She only needed one to clinch the title and become the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam singles title.

This year, Schiavone—playing in what is likely her last French Open—fell to defending champion Garbine Mugurza in the first round. Stosur has reached the fourth round as the No. 23 seed.

3

After losing nine of her first 10 career finals, this was the third title match in a row Schiavone came out on top.

6

Schiavone made her Top 10 debut afterward at No. 6, becoming the highest-ever-ranked Italian woman.

28

On her way to her first career singles Slam final, Stosur defeated three players (Williams, Henin and Jankovic) who had reached 28 major final matches between them.

33

The last year a woman seeded outside the Top 10 won the French Open was in 1933.

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