Serena survives furious Safarova comeback to win French Open, 20th Grand Slam

No. 20 may have been the most difficult one yet.

Battling illness and an uncharacteristic bout of nerves, Serena Williams rebounded from a disastrous second-set collapse to beat Lucie Safarova 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-2 on Saturday to claim her third career French Open championship and the 20th Grand Slam title of her career.

She took some kinda strange trip to get there. This wasn't the dominant Serena Williams we've grown used to watching lay waste to any and all comers while treating the Grand Slam field like her personal plaything. This wasn't an outcome that felt inevitable or preordained, even in hindsight, as her matches so often do.

She came into the tournament nursing an elbow injury, got hit with an apparent flu bug sometime around the third round, and dropped the first set in four of her six matches on her way to the final. But after looking out of sorts and decidedly unwell in her semifinal match against Timea Bacsinszky on Thursday, Williams took Friday off to rest and came out looking like a completely different player Saturday.

She looked like vintage Serena - landing big cracking first serves, moving swiftly, defending stoutly, opening up angles with pristine footwork, and pinning Safarova with flat, heavy groundstrokes to the deepest reaches of the court. Where she'd stumbled around and dragged her feet in the semis, here she was bouncing on the balls of her feet, pumping her fist, roaring to the heavens, and, at one point, literally jumping for joy. Safarova looked overwhelmed by her opponent and the moment. Williams was on cruise control.

Until she wasn't. Serving with two breaks in hand and a 40-15 lead in the second set, Williams faltered. "I choked," she said, by way of a very simple explanation after the match.

Full credit belongs to Safarova - who started hitting bigger and with far less reservation with her back against the wall - but Williams gave her a huge hand. She suddenly lost her ability to land a serve, double-faulting three times in the game to hand one break back. With some air under her wings, Safarova got into a groove, pummeling the ball from the baseline and finding a reliable shot in her inside-out forehand as Williams started spraying everything wide.

At the time Williams was serving at 4-1 in the second, Safarova hadn't even worked a deuce game on the return, let alone earned a break point. Out of nowhere, she broke three times in a row, including at 5-6 when Williams was serving for the match. Her confidence carried into the tiebreaker, which she won with ease, and the trophy celebration was put on hold.

It felt like Williams was getting a taste of her own medicine. So many times in the tournament, she'd been the one on the other side of the net, turning a match around in a blink after looking dead in the water for a set and a half. When she got broken for a fourth straight time in her opening service game of the third set and went down 0-2, it looked like karma was coming back to swallow her whole. She'd been two points from the championship, and was suddenly staring down an ignominious defeat.

She wouldn't, couldn't let it happen. Even as she castigated herself to the point that she received an obscenity warning from the chair ump, she pulled herself together. Her first serves started to stick again. She started loading up on her returns. Safarova started to waver.

After getting back the break and then promptly going up one, Williams played a herculean defense-to-offense point, in which she stayed alive in the rally by switching hands and getting a racket on a lunging lefty return. Six shots later, Safarova sailed a backhand wide and long, and Williams went on to break and win her fifth straight game.

In her second opportunity to serve it out, she made no mistake. After just over two hours of electric baseline ball-bruising, she rounded off her Grand Slam tally, and improved her record in Slam finals to an absurd 20-4.

"This one is by far the most dramatic," she said afterwards, and it's hard to argue otherwise.

For the plucky Safarova, playing in her first Slam final, it was a tremendous display of grit to cap off a fortnight that undoubtedly made her a ton of new fans. She's always seemed to have the goods, but has never quite been able to put it all together until now, At 28, she's playing the best tennis of her life, and will jump to a career-high No. 7 when the new rankings are rolled out on Monday.

For Williams, it was a microcosm of what's already been a thoroughly bizarre season. She's rarely looked her best, has only sporadically been in top form, has struggled mentally and physically, been on the ropes, looked despondent and defeated. Somehow, she's still lost only one match.

She hadn't made it past the quarters in Australia since 2010, and had done so just once at Roland Garros since 2003. For all her match-to-match struggles, here she is, with a sixth Aussie Open title under her belt and now a third Coupe Suzanne Lenglen to add to her trophy case, halfway to a calendar Grand Slam.

Enjoy this while it lasts. We'll never see anyone like her again.

See below for a full running diary of the match.

Live Blog

All time stamps are in Eastern Time

Final match stats

11:15 - And on her second chance, she closes it out! It wasn't nearly as easy as it looked like it was going to be, but Serena wins the final six games of the match to take the final: 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-2, and she's now a three-time French Open champ.

11:14 - 0-40 and Serena has her first championship points.

11:11 - Two clutch, thumping first serves from Serena give her the hold, and once again she's a game from Grand Slam No. 20. Safarova to serve to stay in it after dropping five straight games.

11:09 - Serena wins a dizzying, 19-shot exchange that she had absolutely no business winning. Stayed in the point with a lunging lefty return, slowly got herself back into, then on top of, the rally. Then Safarova takes a huge hack on a forehand return and sticks it up the line. 30-30.

11:07 - Safarova can't hold her nerve in a crucial service game. On break points, goes for too much on a backhand down the line, puts it long and Serena now has the break, up 4-2. CAN SHE CLOSE IT OUT?

11:04 - Serena gets a well-earned obscenity warning from the chair umpire on the changeover.

10:59 - Serena, continuing to hector herself relentlessly, nevertheless gets the break back thanks in part to a nervy game from Safarova, who doubles on break point. Then Serena holds at love to go up 3-2.

10:57...

10:55 - A flustered and confounded Serena manages to pull herself together and hold at 15. Minutes ago, she was two points from the finish line. Can she refocus and will herself to the title that seemed all but assured last set?

10:52 - The madness continues as Safarova breaks to open the third set, then consolidates with an easy hold. 2-0, and something tells me this match has a few more twists and turns in store.

10:48 - Set 2 stats - Serena doubled five times, Safarova converted all three of her break chances, and Serena won just three of her 15 second-serve points. Only four total net approaches between them. This one is being played from the baseline. Bona fide ball-bashing.

10:44 - !!!!! Serena nets a return, and from 1-4, 15-40 down, Safarova comes back to steal the second set, 7-6 (2). The French Open final will go the distance for a second straight year. Serena getting a taste of her own medicine!

10:43 - Four set points to Safarova, serving up 6-2!

10:40 - Safarova sprints to a 3-0 lead in the breaker, and gets way ahead in the fourth point, only to see Serena bust out some terrific defense to completely turn it around. Unreturned serves from each woman send us into the changeover at 4-2. Ridiculously high level of tennis.

10:37 - Another break! Unbelievable hitting from both women, and Safarova, after playing on her heels for the majority of the match, is suddenly playing the aggressor. She smokes a forehand winner down the line, then, after a Serena error gives her a break point, finishes the game off with a screaming backhand passer. We're going to a tiebreak, folks.

10:32 - Safarova, suddenly with something to lose, gets tight. Unforced forehand error to set up break point, missed first serve, and Serena blasts the second offering back for a winner. She'll serve for the match.

10:28 - Serena finally rediscovers her first serve when she needs it most. Drills one out wide that doesn't come back, then blasts an ace up the middle to stop the bleeding and hold for 5-5.

10:24 - Serena has helped out plenty by making a slew of head-scratching mistakes, but what a show of resilience from Safarova, who's come back from the dead. She holds to get her nose ahead and we're on serve at 5-4 in the second.

10:21 - Incredible! After Safarova wins a furious baseline rally to earn two break points, Serena double-faults again, and we're back on serve. An unusual show of nerves from the 19-time Slam champ. Safarova serving at 4-4 and seems to be brimming with confidence as Serena starts to doubt.

10:17 - Safarova has just nine winners in the match - a tribute to how well Serena is covering the court - but she's starting to get a bit more comfortable in the return game. 15-15.

10:16 - Safarova holds to consolidate the break, but she's still a break down. Serena will try to get things back on track, up 4-3 with the ball on her racket.

10:12 - A pretty stunning turn of events, even if it doesn't end up making a difference in the end. Safarova, with nothing to lose, starts swinging freely, Serena tightens up, and from 15-40 down Safarova comes back to break for the first time in the match, aided by two double-faults.

10:10 - Serena cranks a down-the-line forehand winner from behind the baseline and does a giddy little hop. Seemingly feeling right as rain now. She can taste it.

10:07 - A return winner off the backhand wing gives Serena a double-break lead and now it's only a matter of time. 4-1 and two games from No. 20.

10:04 - Serena rips a devastating cross-court backhand to close out another easy service game. Up 3-1 and on autopilot.

10:00 - Safarova holds, but she's got to find a way to make a dent in Serena's service game and it's pretty hard to imagine her doing that right now. Just not able to get anything going off the ground in the return game. Getting chewed up.

9:56 - Serena's serve is singing and Safarova can't do anything with it. Comfortable hold to consolidate the break for a 2-0 lead.

9:54 - Serena bashes her way to a break in the first game of the second set, lets loose a huge roar, and Safarova is officially in a world of trouble.

9:48 - Safarova staves off a set point and guts out a hold, but Serena comes right back to serve it out, closing the first set 6-3. She's 239-7 all time at Grand Slam events when winning the first set.

9:37 - On top of striking cleanly, Serena is moving exceptionally well. Very quick to the ball. She holds with a huge, 119 mph ace out wide and is a game away from claiming the first set. 5-2.

9:34 - Safarova gets a much-needed routine hold. She needs all the confidence she can get with the way Serena is hitting the ball right now.

9:31 - Serena is still looking placid, but her body language as compared to her semifinal match is night and day. Holds easily for 4-1. Safarova really struggling to get into these points. Serena keeping the ball heavy and deep, and already has nine winners.

9:26 - Serena doing a great job parrying Safarova's tough lefty serve. Absolutely mashes a crosscourt forehand return winner on break point to gain the upper hand. 3-1, and she's looking very solid early on.

9:22 - Serena botches an overhead, which does not happen often. Safarova with a possible opening at 30-30. Serena responds with an unreturned serve and an ace out wide. 2-1.

9:20 - Safarova responds with a comfortable hold, as Serena pushes a couple of returns long. Even at a game apiece.

9:16 - Strong first service game from Serena, who hammers an ace up the T to secure the hold.

9:14 - Serena serves to start the match, and we're underway.

9:09 - The two women are on court warming up. As they get in some practice rallies, NBC commentator Mary Carillo gives props to Maria Sharapova for coming into the tournament with an illness but never once bringing it up or making excuses for herself, which seems like a not-so-subtle jab. Serena into the tunnel after warmups.