PARIS -- Albert Costa can be excused for an unpolished victory speech.
He's a bit out of practice.
Mixing speeds and playing nearly impeccably for stretches, Costa beat fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-1, 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 Sunday in the French Open final for his first major championship and first title of any sort in nearly three years.
Costa never even had been past the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament in 25 previous tries. Only four men played in more majors before winning their first such title, topped by Goran Ivanisevic's 47 before his victory at Wimbledon in 2001.
"I was trying, trying, fighting every day," the 20th-seeded Costa said. "I was preparing to win this tournament. But I didn't believe in myself before."
As the match ended on Ferrero's fifth double fault, Costa dropped to a knee, then fell on his back with arms and legs spread, covering himself with clay.
"When I was there," Costa said, "I was thinking, 'Did I win?"'
Relishing the moment, he went into the guest box to kiss his crying parents and his fiancee, Cristina -- their wedding is Friday -- and lifted his 1-year-old twin daughters over his head. After switching to a clean shirt for the trophy presentation, Costa addressed the crowd in a rambling mix of Spanish, French and English.
"Forgive me. I'm a little nervous," Costa said. "It's much more difficult to speak than to play in the final."
Costa, who turns 27 this month, had few problems in what looked like it would be the most lopsided French Open championship ever.
He and Ferrero traded the first two games before rain halted play for 25 minutes. When they returned, Costa couldn't miss, and Ferrero was awful, looking nothing like the player who beat Andre Agassi and Marat Safin to reach his first major final.
With Ferrero out of synch -- he complained later about ankle, abdomen and leg injuries -- Costa pounced, stepping in from the baseline to whip strokes at severe angles that sent his opponent nearly into the courtside geraniums to retrieve balls.
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