Serbia's Ana Ivanovic holds the Cup as Russia's Dinara Safina looks on after the women's final at the French Open yesterday. Ivanovic won. - AP

PARIS (AP):

THIS TIME Ana Ivanovic was ready for the French Open final.

Showing no sign of the nerves that afflicted her a year ago, Ivanovic won her first Grand Slam title yesterday by beating Dinara Safina 6-4, 6-3.

By reaching the final, Ivanovic had already assured herself of being ranked No. 1 for the first time next week. And her performance was No. 1-calibre against Safina.

"I'm just so happy I kept my composure until the end," Ivanovic said during the trophy ceremony. "Last year's final was a great learning experience."

Cool competitor

A shaky Ivanovic played in her first major at Roland Garros in 2007 and won only three games from Justine Henin. But against Safina she was as cool as the 65-degree weather, showing hardly a bead of perspiration even as she sprinted from corner to corner retrieving shots.

The 20-year-old Ivanovic slugged winners from both sides, feasted on Safina's sometimes shaky serve and scurried to extend points, which led to plenty of entertaining rallies. Ivanovic won most of them, including one frantic exchange that she finished off with a delicate drop shot and ferocious fist pump.

Ivanovic won match point with a backhand up the line, then dropped her racket, collapsed into a crouch and covered her face. After blowing kisses to the crowd, she used a chair to climb into the stands and share hugs with family and friends.

"This was amazing," Ivanovic said. "I still don't realise what happened. As a kid, when I used to go by bike to practice, I used to dream of this."

Henin, a four-time French Open champion who retired last month while ranked No. 1, watched and applauded from the front row.

Ivanovic's worst moment came serving at 4-3 in the first set, when she squandered a 40-love lead by losing the next five points. She quickly regrouped and won five of the next six games to take command.

Out of comebacks

Safina, playing in her first-time Grand Slam final, fended off a match point in consecutive rounds this week, rallying each time after she lost the first set and trailed 5-2 in the second. But the Russian ran out of comebacks.

"I didn't have any more the fire that I had those matches," Safina said. "I was tired."

She needed 20 points to hold for 3-4 in the second set, and from 15-all in the next game, Ivanovic swept the last seven points.

"I hope I can come back next year again," Safina said.

Seeded 13th, Safina was trying to join her brother, two-time Grand Slam champion Marat Safin, in winning a major title. They're the first sister and brother to reach Grand Slam finals.

Safin was in London preparing for the grass-court season and didn't attend the final.

"Somehow I thought he might come," Safina said with a smile, "but he didn't."

The final was the third in the last five major tournaments for Ivanovic. She was runner-up at this year's Australian Open to Maria Sharapova, who will be supplanted in the No. 1 ranking next week by Ivanovic.