On Top of the World

Third time is the charm. Ana Ivanovic legitimized her new No. 1 ranking with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Dinara Safina in the Roland Garros women's championship today. It was the Serbian's third Slam final and she finally got it right.

It helped that she wasn't facing another Slam champion this time around.

Forget the score. This was the most competitive women's singles Slam finals since Amelie Mauresmo defeated Justine Henin-Hardenne in three sets at Wimbledon in 2006.

For Safina's part, she acquitted herself well in her first Slam final. But the occasion overwhelmed her. Serving to stay in the match, she made three quick and silly errors to stare down the barrel of three match points. Having overcome (at least) three match points in two previous rounds, her luck ran out today.

Ana took the championship with a backhand down the line.

“This was amazing,” Ivanovic said. “I still don’t realize what happened. As a kid, when I used to go by bike to practice, I used to dream of this.”

What happened was you earned your first Slam title and solidified your place atop the rankings.

What I want to know is why there is so little love for you in these parts. Perhaps our readers will tell us.