ROME — Serena Williams proved she can win on clay by taking the Italian Open title.
Now it's on to the only Grand Slam tournament played on the slower surface, the French Open, which starts May 27.
Williams overcame a twisted right ankle and a tough opponent in Sunday's Italian Open final, beating Justine Henin 7-6 (6), 6-4 for her third championship of 2002 and first on clay in her career.
"A lot of people insist I'm not a clay-court player, although I am," Williams said. "So it makes me feel really good, especially going into Roland Garros."
The final was a rematch of the final at last week's German Open, which Henin won in a third-set tiebreaker.
It was an impressive showing by Williams, who beat top-ranked and defending French Open champion Jennifer Capriati in the semifinals at the Foro Italico. Williams will rise to a career-high No. 3 in the new rankings released Monday.
Against Henin, who hadn't lost a set all week before the final and will move up to No. 5 Monday, Williams was resilient.
She was undeterred by wasting five set points in the first set, which lasted 1 hour, 10 minutes, and closed out the victory with two service breaks in the second set.
With a game reliant on power and pace, Williams hasn't had a lot of success on clay in the past. She had never been beyond the quarterfinals in two previous trips to the Italian Open; that equals to her best showing at the French Open.
GERMAN OPEN: At Hamburg, Germany,Roger Federer played his best tennis to earn his first tournament victory on clay.
Federer beat Marat Safin 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 Sunday to win the Hamburg Masters. He had lost just one set this week en route to his second victory of the season.
"It's been an unbelievable tournament for me," said the 11th-seeded Federer. "I played some really good tennis today. It was probably the best match of my career.
"I never thought I would a win a tournament on clay because I lost my first 11 matches on the tour on clay."
Federer, 20, won 11 of the first 13 games of the match.
WORLD TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS : At Duesseldorf, Germany, Pete Sampras and Andy Roddick each lost in three sets and the United States was beaten by France 3-0 at the World Team Championships on Sunday.
Sampras was beaten 7-6 (3), 2-6, 7-6 (2) by Nicolas Escude, and Roddick lost 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to Arnaud Clement.
France completed the sweep when Clement and Escude defeated James Blake and Jared Palmer 6-1, 6-1 in doubles.