Tuesday 19 May 2015 13:55, UK
Maria Sharapova warmed up for the defence of her French Open crown in the best way possible by claiming the Italian Open title for the third time in Rome.
Sharapova won a hard-fought final against Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro, losing the first set and winning a very tight second, before romping through the decider to triumph 4-6 7-5 6-1.
In sweltering conditions at the Foro Italico, 10th seed Suarez Navarro began well in her quest for just the second title of her career, breaking the World No 3 and going on to take set one.
And she fought hard in the second set, recovering from 1-3 and 3-5 to level at 5-5, before Sharapova won two games in a row to level the match.
Suarez Navarro broke to start set three but that proved to be the end of her resistance, Sharapova smacking a backhand return past her tiring opponent to break back immediately.
And the 28-year-old went on to reel off the next five games in a row, wrapping up victory after over two and a half hours with her 39th winner of the day
It was a 35th WTA tour title for Sharapova, who will climb to second in the world rankings next week.
Sharapova felt she made too many errors in the opening set and at the beginning of the second, but said: "I thought the errors I was making were really close. I felt like I was doing the right thing and I'm glad I gave myself a chance to cut those down.
"She's a really all-around player who can step in and can step back but she was really far behind the baseline and I feel like I took advantage of that.
"I felt that I was the fresher one, felt like I was more aggressive.
“To see where I was physically in the third set today was huge against someone who can withstand a very long match. That gave me a lot of confidence.
“I've come a long way physically in the last few weeks but it's taken a lot of mental and physical work to get to this stage.”
Suarez Navarro said: “It was a really close match. I knew I needed to start really strongly and I did but, at the end of the second set, Maria began to play more aggressively.
"I think that was the key but, overall, I am happy with my performance."
