French Open Winner Francesca Schiavone Set to Conquer Wimbledon
Newly-crowned French Open champ Francesca Schiavone hopes to continue her winning ways on Centre Court grass.
After defeating fellow Grand Slam final debutant Samantha Stosur via scores 6-4, 7-6 (2), Schiavone is now eager to build on her momentum like never before.
With Wimbledon merely two weeks away, the Italian may want to practice kissing grass instead of clay—a celebration ritual she began during the French Open quarterfinals. After stopping Stosur in straight sets for the French title, she fell onto her back, then rolled over and kissed the clay once more.
Alluding to her amusing albeit surprising way of celebrating, Schiavone said: “To kiss the ground for me is to thank this clay, this beautiful tournament and this arena...”
The Italian is certainly thankful for the tremendous support she has gained along the way. With her recent victory, she has earned the praise of Grand Slam winners Martina Navratilova and Kim Clijsters. Former champ
Clijsters congratulated Schiavone via Twitter, saying: “Congrats Schiavo! “Great to see one of the nicest, funniest, coolest, honest and hard-working girls win the trophy!” Asked what she thought of the new French Open champion, Navratilova said, “She played like a champion. She is a champion. She always had it in her.”
The Australian Stosur, although disappointed, was gracious in victory. “She just had her day. She went for it. It takes guts to do that. Well done to her,” said the French Open runner-up.
Schiavone also won the hearts of her countrymen, becoming the first Italian women’s champion in the 126-year history of Grand Slam tennis.
The last Italian that was crowned champion was Adriano Panatta, who clinched the French Open men’s title in 1976. With this feat, no less than the Italian president Giorgio Napolitano congratulated Schiavone before she even left the court.
Her antics and exploits on the clay court may have expanded her current fan base. While she expected that the final will be attended by her close friends and relatives, Schiavone was tickled-pink to see a great number of Schiavone supporters.
Schiavone considered win so much sweeter than her past victories. Growing up, Schiavone told reporters that she always had a sweet spot for the French Open, just like most Europeans.
As she clawed her way up, Schiavone made a promise to herself that when presented with the opportunity, she will try her very best to clinch the Grand Slam here in Paris. She was not afraid to dream big.
29-year old Schiavone became the oldest woman to bag her very first Grand Slam title in over 40 years. Also, she’ll become the oldest female in 12 years to barge into the top 10 for the first time, with her 30th birthday coming up in 2 weeks. Heading into Wimbledon, it is expected that Schiavone will now be ranked sixth.
The Italian is confident that she can maintain her run atop the women’s division when play resumes. In fact, she sees no reason why she can’t.
“Why should it finish?” she said. “When you have success, you should have others. It should become something continual. You can’t win one thing and then disappear.”
It seems that becoming a one-Slam wonder is the farthest thing from her mind. And rightfully so. Last year, her nerves got the better of her, suffering a quarterfinal defeat to Elena Dementieva.
Still, en route to the final eight, she managed to beat 2007 runner-up Marion Bartoli. Schiavone now looks to bury her Wimbledon loss and go for back to back Grand Slam titles.
Can Schiavone achieve this historic feat? Your guess is as good as mine.
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