French Open 2015: Results, Highlights, Saturday Scores Recap from Roland Garros
Serena Williams' dominance of international tennis continued on Saturday as she claimed the 2015 French Open title at Roland Garros, defeating Lucie Safarova.
The queen of the sport played exquisitely at times, but her Czech opponent had plenty of fight and took her the distance.
Williams won the match 6-3, 6-7, 6-2—laying down a marker for the upcoming Wimbledon championship—but much of the focus and plaudits fell on Safarova as she put on a career-best display.
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Here is the result from Saturday's action:
| Final | (1) Serena Williams | (13) Lucie Safarova | 6-3, 6-7, 6-2 |
Saturday Recap
Serena Williams doesn't need to be fully fit to win Grand Slams against her most formidable rivals, and the top player in the world again proved this as she swept to the French Open title against a plucky Lucie Safarova.
The American shot out of the blocks in the early stages of the contest, breaking the Czech in the first exchanges and racing to a 3-1 lead.
Williams was in electric form, leaving Safarova in her wake, and it seemed the formidable talent would race to the title at lightning pace.
The extrovert champion grabbed the first set 6-3, placing one hand on her 20th Grand Slam trophy.
However, Safarova—looking dead and buried at one stage—performed a miraculous comeback in the second set to prove her credential as a finalist.
The 13th seed soon found herself 4-1 down in the second, but she dug deep to stun Williams, who had taken her foot temporarily off the gas.
Safarova broke Williams and dragged the set back to her advantage, taking a 5-4 lead as the American's serve collapsed in spectacular fashion.
Williams stayed in touch with her opponent to trigger a tiebreak, but Safarova was in the ascendancy and took the set 6-7 (2-7).
The Czech continued her sparkling comeback, winning the first two games of the final set, but Williams found the drive she needed, overpowering her brave opponent.
Despite Safarova still performing well, Williams rapidly broke her serve in quick succession, and she took the set 6-2 and secured the championship.
Former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli caught the legendary player celebrating her win after she received the silverware:
Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times commented on Williams' brilliance and highlighted her astonishing record:
The final underlined Williams' dominance of the game, but it was significantly a breakout performance for Safarova—who played with confidence and guile.
The Czech would have beaten any other player on the planet in the form she displayed after the first set, but Williams was one hurdle too high on Saturday afternoon.
It appears no one will be able to touch Williams at Wimbledon when the tournament begins, but Safarova proved that even the best player has dips and weaknesses that can be targeted.
Williams' serve was incredibly poor at times, and this could be her undoing at the lawn tennis showpiece.
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