Ana Ivanovic believes her breakthrough Grand Slam win at the French Open on Saturday had its roots firmly entrenched in her emotionally painful capitulation to Justine Henin in last year's final.

She lost 6-1, 6-2 to the Belgian on that occasion as nerves got the better of her, but says that the lessons she learned that day she stored away and used them to full benefit in her 6-4, 6-3 win over against Russia's Dinara Safina.

"Many people asked me, Oh, you want to forget last year's final? But I don't, because it was great learning experience," the 20-year-old Belgrade beauty said.

"Obviously it hurt at the time and it hurt afterwards, but she's a great champion. "I lost to a great champion and I learned a lot from her, from the way she handled herself in that final."

Fittingly it was Henin, who announced her retirement from the sport last month, who was on hand at Roland Garros to hand over the trophy that she won herself four times.

"When she handed me the trophy it was a very thrilling moment as well," she said. "She said, 'well done. You really deserve it'. It meant a lot to me."

Ivanovic also noticed early on that Safina, though two years her senior, looked nervous and tight as she was playing in her first Grand Slam final after a roller-coaster ride of matches.

"When I was on the court I realised she was nervous," she said. "I tried also to look back at the way I felt last year and it made me more calm because I had those experiences and I went through that.

"That was something that gave me a lot of confidence and strength to step up on some important points."

There was the added bonus for Ivanovic in that her run to the final in Paris ensures her of the world number one status taking over from Maria Sharapova, who briefly replaced Henin upon her retirement.

That means extra pressure and expectations to be met, she agrees, but Ivanovic believes she has the inner strength and fortitude to meet the new challenges.

She said: "Obviously being number one now holds more pressure, but you are also a professional athlete and if you want to achieve your goals you have to learn how to handle the pressure and realise that pressure is also a kind of reward because you put yourself into a position to do something memorable."

AFP