Strasbourg, France – Francesca Schiavone completed a successful tuneup for the French Open with a straight-set win over Alize Cornet in the final of the Strasbourg International.
Schiavone earned a 6-4, 6-4 victory on Saturday and will try to carry the momentum into Roland Garros, where she has had her greatest Grand Slam success the past two years.
The 31-year-old veteran became the first Italian woman to win a major championship at the 2010 French Open and was the runner-up last year to China's Li Na.
Schiavone had struggled for most of 2012 entering this week. Since a semifinal appearance in Brisbane to start the year, she had not been past the third round in any of her subsequent nine events.
Included in that disappointing run were first-round exits each of the past two weeks at Madrid and Rome. Between Brisbane and Strasbourg, she posted a match record of just 5-13, including three losses in Fed Cup play.
Schiavone captured her fifth career WTA title with Saturday's triumph and her first since the 2010 French. She'll open her stay in Paris next week with a first-round match against Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm.
Cornet fell to 1-3 all-time in WTA finals and was appearing in a title match for the first time since 2008. The French native titled in Budapest four years ago for her lone tournament victory.
Schiavone, now 5-10 all-time in finals, also improved to 8-1 lifetime against Cornet, including wins in their last seven meetings.
The victory was worth a first prize of $37,000.
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