Nothing Is Impossible

Getty


Getty


Getty

The T-shirts said it all.

At 29 years of age, Francesca Schiavone became the first Italian woman in the Open Era to win a singles Slam title.

Fans are speculating and hoping about what this victory means to Schiavone's future. I don't have a clue and won't even speculate. To see her pure elation is enough to last for a while, so I'm going to enjoy her victory right along with her.

What I wrote of the match in the comments:

I thought Schiavone had the overall package to neutralize Sam's game and confidence, and that's exactly what happened.

As for Sam's serve. I do believe that her placement is top notch and with such work on the ball, it's a bit difficult for some players to get a handle on even when they know where it's going. Still. Remember how well Serena returned it in Melbourne? Had she actually been on the court in Paris, she may have remembered that and returned it similarly, but we know where she was.... As it was, Sam won 8-6 in the third. Randy has characterized this as "coldclocking". I suppose we need to define our terms.

But I digress.

Schiavone had no trouble returning Sam's serve. With Sam not winning the free points as she did against Jelena, she had to play longer rallies, and in those, Schiavone out-maneuvered her by attacking her backhand and slicing it the ball short to disrupt her baseline rhythm. She also owned the net.

I should also mention the obvious: Francesca has a one handed backhand, as does Justine, but Sam's kick didn't bother her because her form is better. I'm going to say that again: Francesca's backhand form is better than Justine's. It has no hitch in the swing, and unlike Justine, she's always balanced when she hits it. In short, she didn't allow the ball to jump over her shoulders. She took it on the rise because she could.

I can't compare Stosur's game to anyone's off the top of my head. I like her quite a bit, I even enjoy watching some of her matches, but her game is rather blase to me. And, yes, she's fragile.

Still, it was an excellent effort from both players to advance to the finals against all the odds, so it was fitting the player who ultimately won did so against the odds.

Best women's Slam Roland Garros final since Roland Garros 2001.