Francesca Schiavone, who turns 30 later this month, defeated Samantha Stosur in the final of the French Open 6-4 7-6 to win her first career major title!

"I didn't prepare anything, because whenever I prepare something for the future, it doesn't happen," Schiavone told the crowd during the trophy presentation. "I've watched every final of this tournament and I know what the big champions say. So I want to thank everybody. I felt amazing today. I'm really, really happy."

"Congratulations Sam. I think you're a great, great person and a great athlete. You deserve to be here and you're young, so you'll do it too."

Schiavone is the second-oldest player in the Open Era to win their first Grand Slam title (Ann Jones was 30 years, 8 months when she won Wimbledon in 1969).


"I can still improve," she told Italian reporters earlier in the week. "I can still be more explosive. I can still put more spin on my shots. I can still hit deeper. I can still improve my serve. I'm just beginning."

"It doesn't matter what the age - if you've got that desire, anyone can do it," Stosur said. "It proves you don't have to be a teenage wonderkid superstar."

On Monday, Schiavone will rise to a career-best No. 6 in the WTA rankings, making her the oldest woman since 1998 to make her top-10 debut.

Stosur, who beat Justine Henin, Serena Williams and Jelena Jankovic on her way to final said:

"I still don't think I played that badly. She just had her day. She went for it and everything came off. It takes guts to do that.

"I am disappointed, not just because I lost, but it has been a big journey and a great two weeks. I guess I wanted the full fairytale, but it didn't quite happen."

Francesca Schiavone beats Samantha Stosur to win French Open