Paris, Jun 4 (IANS): Chinese Li Na defeated defending champion Francesca Schiavone of Italy 6-4, 7-6 (7-0) to lift the women's singles title at the French Open here Saturday and become the first Asian to win a Grand Slam singles.

Being a set down, Schiavone pushed the second set into a tie-break after being 1-3 down at one stage. But the Chinese lifted her game to win the tie-break without conceding a point.

"She tried to come back. I needed to stand up and make it. Everyone will be really excited back home," said Li, who became the first Chinese player to reach a Grand Slam final in the Australian Open in January where she lost to Belgian Kim Clijsters.

"I got nervous a lot of times but I am happy to win it eventually. I thank my team who have worked so hard to make this happen."

Schiavone congratulated her opponent and said she deserved to win.

"You could not push her from the baseline. She played well and deserved to win," said the Italian.