Williams beats Safarova to lift 20th major

Serena Williams won her third title at Roland Garros and 20th Grand Slam singles trophy by beating 13th-seeded Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-2.

Williams added the third title to her 2002 and 2013 championships on the French Open's red clay. Those go alongside six each from the U.S. Open and Australian Open, and five from Wimbledon.

"When I was a little girl, in California, my father and my mother wanted me to play tennis," the 33-year-old American told the crowd in French earlier. "And now I'm here, with 20 Grand Slam titles."

Only two players in the century-plus history of Grand Slam tennis have more: Margaret Smith Court with 24, and Steffi Graf with 22.

Williams also stretched her winning streak at the majors to 21 matches, following titles at the U.S. Open last September and Australian Open in January.

She is the first woman since Jennifer Capriati in 2001 to win the Australian Open and French Open back-to-back and heads to Wimbledon's grass with a chance to extend a bid to accomplish just about the only thing she hasn't: win a calendar-year Grand Slam.

Williams closed the first game with a 120 mph (194 kph) ace. She went up 3-1 by breaking with a cross-court forehand return winner to win the first set.

At 4-1 for Williams in the second, seemingly all but over, she began to falter. Williams double-faulted twice in a row to get broken for the first time, then double-faulted again to make it 4-all.

When Safarova, growing ever more confident, held moments later, she had taken four consecutive games. She stood strong in the tiebreaker and at the outset of the third set, too. Williams then woke up to regain control, taking six games in a row to win the championship. Endi