China's Li Na celebrated a historic day after becoming the first Asian player to win a grand slam singles title at the French Open.

The 29-year-old ended Francesca Schiavone's hopes of back-to-back titles at Roland Garros with a 6-4 7-6 (7/0) victory and will now climb to fourth in the world.

Li had come close at the Australian Open in January, losing in the final to Kim Clijsters, but she took control of the match early on today and did not let go despite a wobble in the second set.

She said: "Today is a dream come true. When I was a young player, I wanted be a grand slam champion. People were saying I'm getting old. So this is a dream come true for an old woman.

"It wasn't easy. At 6-0 in the tie-break I was thinking, 'Okay, don't do a stupid thing.' Because I have had many match points before without winning the match. Of course it is exciting. Not so many players can win grand slams."

Li, for whom this is a first clay-court title, is a superstar in China and Sunday's victory only makes it more likely that many will follow where she has led.

"China has never had a grand slam champion so that's why in China so many players are working so hard," she said."Because the dream is they can be the top player or win a grand slam.

"I got a text message from my friend. They said people were crying in China because they saw the national flag going up. I think if you are Chinese, everyone was excited."

Li certainly began the better, hitting the ball cleanly and confidently, and after missing a chance to break in the opening game, she pounced to move 4-3 ahead.

The Chinese woman was also serving superbly, making 77% of first serves throughout the match, and there were no wobbles as she closed out the opening set.

Li broke again to gain an immediate advantage in the second and Schiavone was having to battle extremely hard to avoid getting blown away by her more powerful opponent.

In successive games the Italian saved break points, and she got her reward at 4-3 when Li's forehand suddenly cracked and her opponent levelled.

Schiavone now had hope and she piled on the pressure, knowing Li had never been as close to a grand slam title. The crucial point came with the 29-year-old serving at 5-6 and deuce.

A shot from Li was called out, which would have given Schiavone a set point, but umpire Louise Engzell over-ruled after inspecting the mark to the obvious disbelief of the defending champion.

Schiavone did not win another point as Li raced through the tie-break, clinching victory when her opponent, who had earned the wrath of the Roland Garros crowd by daring to challenge calls, fired a backhand long.

The fifth seed did not believe that moment changed the outcome of the match, but she remained unconvinced by Engzell's call.

Schiavone said: "If the ball is out, I call it out. If the ball is in, it's in. That's what they taught me from when I was young, and that's what I want to teach in the future to the kids.

"So if I call the ball out, the percentage that I make a mistake on is really, really low. If you explain to me this is the mark and this is out, I can believe you. But that ball, no.

"One ball can't make the difference, but in that moment, you have to check the ball really well. That's what I contested."

The Italian felt Li's ability to consistently keep the ball deep and with pace had proved the difference, nullifying the effects of Schiavone's spin.

She added: "I think the style that she played, hitting it really deep, meant I couldn't play my spin really high. She played at a really high level through the first set and until 2-1 or 3-1.

"Then I tried to push more, to risk more, and her level dropped. But it's normal. Tennis is always like this.

"I think at the end we were really close and the set could have gone to me or her. But in the end she won. I think she deserved to win this final. She fought a lot and she played well on the clay."