Safarova 'magnificent' says delighted Serena Williams

World number one Williams survived a mid-match meltdown to beat Czech Lucie Safarova 6-3 6-7(2) 6-2 to win the French Open on Saturday, her 20th grand slam singles trophy.

And she was clearly relieved to have come through the test.

"It was complicated, Lucie played very well, she's a superb opponent, she was very aggressive," Williams said courtside in French.

"I got a bit nervous but it's alright, it's a dream for me. To win it (the 20th grand slam) here is special for me because I don't always play very well here."

"When I was a little girl, in California, my father and my mother wanted me to play tennis. And now I'm here, with 20 Grand Slam titles,"

Safarova looked like she had the eventual winner rattled at one point: the American, who skipped practice on Friday because of a bout of flu, had opened up a 6-3 4-1 lead but slumped as the 13th-seeded Safarova stormed back into contention, even moving 2-0 up in the decider.

But Williams regained her composure and won the last six games to win the claycourt major for the third time after her 2002 and 2013 titles - and Safarova admitted that there was nothing she could have done.

"It's been a great two weeks here for me," Safarova said.

"Serena you were amazing, you are a great player and a great fighter."

At her press conference, Safarova spoke of her delight at having gone so far in Paris.

"You have moments where you're really on the roll and you just keep winning tiebreaks," the 28-year-old explained.

"I feel better in the key situations, the important situations.

"I wish that will continue in the future tournaments, and I will do my best to play the great tennis that I played here. I hope this is just the beginning."