Italy's Schiavone wins French Open title

Paris: Francesca Schiavone has become the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam title, beating Samantha Stosur in the French Open final 6-4, 7-6 (2).

Schiavone rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the second set on Saturday and took the clinching tiebreaker with brilliant shots. When she had won, she fell onto her back, then rolled over and kissed the clay.

At 29, Schiavone became the oldest woman to win her first Grand Slam title since Ann Jones at Wimbledon in 1969 at age 30. She's the first Italian Grand Slam champion since Adriano Panatta won the French Open men's title in 1976.

Schiavone was seeded 17th. The only other time the French title was won by a woman not seeded in the top 10 was in 1933.