Something about Mary

Roland Garros: Mary Pierce's finest hour

Never wildly popular in France, Mary Pierce has finally won the devotion of her home crowd with an historic victory at Roland Garros.

Her straight-sets defeat of Conchita Martinez of Spain made her the first French woman to take the title since Francoise Durr in 1967.

Grand Slam bests

Australian Open: Winner 1995

French Open: Winner 2000

Wimbledon: Quarter-finals 1996

US Open: Quarter-finals 1999, 1994

The victory also dispells the idea that the 25-year-old is a "one slam wonder" - a tag applied after she failed to improve on her single Grand Slam victory, at the Australian Open in 1995.

That win made her the first French woman to claim a Grand Slam in the Open era, although part of her failure to be accepted by her home crowd stems from the fact that she was born in Canada and raised in the United States.

She now has a residence in Paris, but lives most of the year in Florida, USA.

Australia 1995: Her other Grand Slam success

Fickle French crowds have booed and jeered her from the court in the past, contributing to a series of lacklustre performances.

But Pierce, who recently became a born-again Christian, has risen above both her image problems and trouble in her personal life to answer her critics in the best way possible - by playing the most outstanding tennis of her life.

After being introduced to the game of tennis at the age of 10, Pierce became the youngest American to turn professional when she made her debut in March 1989 at the age of 14 years and two months - a record beaten by Jennifer Capriati a year later.

Tour record

WTA singles: 12 titles

WTA doubles: 6 titles

ITF Women's singles: 2 titles

She took advantage of her dual nationality to switch to representing France in March 1990, receiving the prestigious Burgeon Award for new French talent in 1992.

She made her first big impression in her adoptive homeland when she reached the French Open final in 1994, only to lose to Spain's Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario 6-4, 6-4.

She made good the following year with her victory in Australia, and reached the final again in 1997 - this time as an unseeded player - but lost to Martina Hingis.

But it is her emphatic victory at Roland Garros in 2000 that she is most likely to savour the longest, because it buries doubts about her ability, reconciles her with the French public and also closes a difficult chapter in her personal life.

Losing in France, 1994

Pierce's well-documented and stormy relationship with her father, Jim, led to him being banned from WTA tour events from 1993-1998 for abusive behaviour.

The tour has since readmitted him, but he is not allowed to approach his estranged daughter.

Her split with forrmer coach Nick Bollettieri was also the subject of intense media speculation and their professional relationship ended on a sour note.

She has since rediscovered her Christian beliefs - she wears rosary beads on court - and is understood to be engaged to Roberto Alomar, a Major League Baseball star who plays for the Cleveland Indians.

But controversy continues to follow her, most recently when she admitted to using dietary supplements and the muscle-enhancing product creatine, which is not banned by the Olympic committee but is prohibited in France.

Nonetheless, her career is once again on a very definite upward trajectory, with her French Open win boosting her up the rankings from seven to three - equal to her personal best.