The Latest: Safarova jeered for thanking tournament sponsor

PARIS (AP) — 5:50 p.m.

Lucie Safarova was jeered by some of the fans on Court Chatrier during her runner-up speech after losing the French Open final to Serena Williams.

Why?

After thanking a list of people – her coach, people in her box, the staff from the WTA tour – she added the name of the tournament sponsor, which is a bank.

This did not please some people, and the Czech was greeted by a brief, but loud, chorus of whistles.

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5:38 p.m.

Serena Williams received a kiss from 18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova as she collected the French Open trophy, raising it triumphantly over her head as she milked the applause from Court Chatrier crowd.

Williams, speaking in French, paid tribute to beaten finalist Lucie Safarova:

“Lucie played very well, she was a magnificent opponent,” Williams said. “It was a dream for me to win.”

Safarova returned the compliment — in English:

“Serena, you were amazing today, you a great fighter. Congratulations,” the 13th-seeded Czech said.

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5:25 p.m.

Serena Williams has Steffi Graf’s 22 majors in her sights this year after winning her 20th Grand Slam title.

The top-ranked American beat Lucie Safarova 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-2 Saturday to clinch her third French Open title.

The 33-year-old Williams, the Australian Open champion, will move level with Graf’s tally if she wins Wimbledon and the U.S. Open for a calendar-year Grand Slam.

Margaret Smith Court holds the record with 24 majors.

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5:15 p.m.

Serena Williams has won the French Open title for the third time after beating Lucie Safarova 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-2.

The top-ranked American has now won 20 Grand Slam titles.

Safarova led 2-0 in the final set.

Williams led 4-1 in the second set but then her serve fell apart as the 13th-seeded Czech player rallied to force a decider.

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5:03 p.m.

Serena Williams has received an obscenity warning from the chair umpire after holding serve for a 3-2 lead in the third set of the French Open final.

After sealing the game with an ace, Williams yelled on center court and received the warning moments later.

Safarova fought back from 4-1 down to win the second set.

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4:43 p.m.

Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic has fought back from 4-1 down to win the second set 7-6 (2) against Serena Williams in the French Open final.

Williams double-faulted at the end of the sixth and eighth games of the second set to give Safarova hope.

With the score 5-5, Williams broke Safarova and served for the match.

But the 13th-seeded Czech player broke straight back to force a tiebreaker, which Safarova dominated with powerful groundstrokes.

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3:45 p.m.

Serena Williams is a step closer to winning her 20th Grand Slam title — and her third at the French Open — after clinching the first set 6-3 against Lucie Safarova.

The top-ranked American appears to be showing no signs of the illness that forced her to skip practice Friday and which affected her during her semifinal the day before.

Williams, who has 66 career titles, broke Safarova in the fourth game to lead 3-1.

Then, after Safarova saved one set point on serve in the eighth game with a powerful forehand winner, William served out the set in the next game.

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3:14 p.m.

The women’s French Open final between top-ranked Serena Williams and 13th-seeded Lucie Safarova is under way.

Williams is looking to win her 20th Grand Slam title and third at Roland Garros.

After feeling ill in her semifinal on Thursday, she skipped practice and media duties on Friday.

Safarova, a Wimbledon semifinalist last year, is playing in the final of a major for the first time.

The Czech player is also through to the women’s doubles final as she looks to become the first woman to win the French Open double since Mary Pierce in 2000.

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2:50 p.m.

Andy Murray leaves the French Open in optimistic mood — and with the firm belief that a third Grand Slam title is not too far away.

The third-seeded Briton pushed top-ranked Novak Djokovic to a fifth set in their French Open semifinal, before Djokovic stepped up a gear to take the decider 6-1.

Speaking after the match, Murray said his game is “close back to where it needs to be in terms of winning Slams.”

Looking ahead to Wimbledon, which starts later this month, Murray said “hopefully I can give myself a good opportunity there.”

Murray won the U.S. Open in 2012 and Wimbledon in 2013.

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2:35 p.m.

After waiting overnight to complete his French Open semifinal triumph against Andy Murray, top-ranked Novak Djokovic was in a hurry to complete his media duties.

Just moments after completing a 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 5-7, 6-1 win, Djokovic raced to attend a post-match news conference.

That gave him plenty of time — should he wish — to watch the women’s final on center court. Top-ranked Serena Williams and Lucie Safarova, a Czech player seeded 13.

They are next up on center court, with their match scheduled to start at 3 p.m.

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2:15 p.m.

Novak Djokovic has reached the French Open final after beating Andy Murray 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 5-7, 6-1.

The top-ranked Serb struggled at the end of the fourth set, making some sloppy mistakes, but broke Murray twice in the decider to take complete control before sealing victory with an ace.

Djokovic, who has won eight Grand Slam titles, will try to win the French Open for the first time when he plays Stanislas Wawrinka on Sunday.

Wawrinka has won one major, at the Australian Open last year, and is playing in his second Grand Slam final.

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1:35 p.m.

Andy Murray has won the fourth set 7-5 against Novak Djokovic in their French Open semifinal.

Murray broke Djokovic in the 11th game and then clinched the set when Djokovic, who is making a series of unforced errors, sent a backhand long.

Both players are seeking to win the French Open for the first time, and the winner of this match plays Stanislas Wawrinka on Sunday.

Djokovic has won eight Grand Slam titles and Murray has won two.

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1:12 p.m.

The French Open semifinal between top-ranked Novak Djokovic and third-seeded Andy Murray has resumed in bright sunshine with the score level at 3-3 in the fourth set and Djokovic leading 2-1 in sets.

The match was interrupted late on Friday evening just minutes before heavy rain started to fall in western Paris.

Djokovic won the first two sets 6-3 before Murray clinched the last two games of the third set.

Djokovic, an eight-time Grand Slam champion, has won every major except the French Open. Murray has won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

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12:53 p.m.

Tommy Paul has won the first all-American boys’ final at the French Open with a 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-2 defeat of second-seeded Taylor Fritz.

The 18-year-old Paul, from Lumberton, New Jersey, is the sixth American boy to win the junior title in Paris. Among them was John McEnroe in 1977.

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12:27 p.m.

Paula Badosa Gibert has clinched the first title up for grabs on a busy Saturday at the French Open.

The 12th-seeded Spaniard defeated No. 16 Anna Kalinskaya of Russia 6-3, 6-3 to win the girls’ title.

The boys’ final features two American players, second-seeded Taylor Fritz and No. 13 Tommy Paul, before top-ranked Serena Williams takes on Lucie Safarova in the women’s championship match.

The fourth final of the day will then pit Bob and Mike Bryan against Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo as the twin brothers seek a third title in Paris. Also, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are set to finish their semifinal, which was suspended by rain on Friday evening with Djokovic leading 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 3-3.

Busy day, indeed.

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