June 7 (Bloomberg) -- Ana Ivanovic of Serbia won her first major tennis title by beating Dinara Safina of Russia in straight sets in the final of the French Open.

Second-seeded Ivanovic defeated No. 13 Safina 6-4, 6-3 at Roland Garros in Paris. The 20-year-old was playing in her second consecutive final at the only clay-court Grand Slam after being dispatched in 65 minutes last year by then top-ranked Justin Henin.

This year was a reversal. She beat Safina, sister of two- time major champion Marat Safin, in 98 minutes and will be ranked No. 1 in the world on Monday after Henin's sudden retirement last month. It was Safina's first Grand Slam Final.

``This was amazing,'' Ivanovic said. ``I think we both played a very nervous match. I'm just so happy to keep my composure at the end.''

The match ended as Safina was unable to reach a drop shot. Ivanovic, who pumped her fist after almost every point she won, scampered onto a chair and into the VIP section to reach her mother, father, brother, coach and agent for congratulatory hugs.

``Last year's final was a great learning experience,'' she said. ``I'm just so thrilled.''

Henin, Rogge

Henin, a four-time French Open winner, sat with International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge, a fellow Belgian, at the match and presented the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen to Ivanovic. When she retired on May 14, the 25-year-old Henin said she wanted to make a new start after devoting her life to tennis.

``I was surprised to see her,'' Ivanovic said after the match. ``When I saw her, I thought, maybe I can be like her, I can win the title.''

Ivanovic broke Safina twice in the first set in taking a 4-1 lead. Safina scored her first break in the sixth game and won the next game at love to pull within 4-3.

The Russian fell behind 40-0 in the next game, then won the next five points for her second straight break to pull even at 4-4. Ivanovic broke right back for a 5-4 lead and held serve to close out the set.

``I realized she was nervous,'' Ivanovic said in the news conference. ``She probably felt more nervous than I did.''

Second Set Lead

Ivanovic took a 2-1 lead in the second set with a break in the third game. She held serve at 4-3 and broke Safina at love for the final time.

Ivanovic started playing tennis at the age of five after watching three-time French Open champion Monica Seles on television. She memorized the phone number of a local tennis school and begged her parents to take her. On Monday, she will become the 17th number one in women's tennis, and the first from Serbia.

``As a kid, when I used to go by bike to practice, I used to dream of this,'' she told the crowd after her win.

Ivanovic said she had taken inspiration from Novak Djokovic's win at the Australian Open earlier this year. The Serb beat top-ranked Roger Federer in his way to the final there.

``I thought, if he can do it, than I can do it,'' she said.

Djokovic lost to Spain's Rafael Nadal in the semifinal yesterday. Three-time defending champion Nadal meets Federer in the men's final tomorrow.

Messages From Brother

Safina, 22, got congratulatory text messages from her brother, Marat, who is training in England.

She reached the final after rallying from being a match point down in the second set to fellow Russians Sharapova and eighth-ranked Elena Dementieva. She had played a total of 10 hours and 24 minutes in the tournament before the final, compared with 8 hours and 23 minutes for Ivanovic.

``I was tired, mentally and physically,'' Safina said after the match. ``Comebacks always take so much heart. She was much fresher,'' she said. ``My heart and body didn't do it anymore.''

Safina thanked the crowd in English for its support. She switched to French for one phrase: ``Je t'aime, Paris'' (I love you, Paris), bringing loud cheers from the crowd.

Earlier this week, Ivanovic had credited her coaching team -- Sven Groeneveld and conditioning coach Scott Byrnes -- with boosting her confidence after she had lost to lower-ranked players this year.

``She has matured a lot,'' Groeneveld said in an interview before today's match. ``One of the things that she has learned is to confront her fear.''

Ivanovic said she hadn't started thinking about the grass- court season, which starts immediately after the French Open and peaks with Wimbledon in two weeks.

``I'm still in Paris,'' she said.

To contact the reporter for this story: Danielle Rossingh at Roland Garros through the London newsroom at drossingh@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 7, 2008 15:01 EDT