Sharapova wins Rome Masters

The Russian doll won her first WTA title this year after an easy 6-2, 6-4 win over Stosur in the Rome Masters final.

Sharapova has never played so well on clay. The French Open is also a tournament where the Russian has never won. But now, Sharapova has changed all that with a series of brilliant performances on a surface that is not her forte.

After racking up 36 winners in her semi-final win over Caroline Wozniacki, Sharapova continued her aggressive tactics against Samantha Stosur. She had won all seven previous meetings against the Australian sixth seed.

Sharapova won convincingly.

This time was no exception, as she only needed 1 hour and 23 minutes to defeat her opponent. The runner-up at Roland Garros last year, Stosur continued to suffer the fate of being the runner-up when completely outclassed by the 7th seed from Russia.

After more than an hour of delay due to rain, Sharapova entered the match with great force. She quickly dominated and won 14/15 points, easily taking a 4-0 lead in the first set.

Stosur could not neutralize Sharapova's powerful down the line shots and had to give up the first set 2-6. Also in this set, Stosur made 14 unforced errors.

In the second set, the Australian player executed two perfect forehands. She was lucky to take a 2-1 lead when the decisive shot in game 3 went over the net. But that was all Samantha Stosur could do in this match.

In the remaining time, Sharapova continued to dominate the game and won 6-4, thereby winning the championship for the 23rd time in her career. She said: "I am very happy to have won the Rome Masters. The dream has finally come true. It has been a long time since I have stepped on the podium. Of course, I am not the top candidate for the championship title. But defeating opponents on clay is a result that encourages me a lot. This is just the starting point."

For his part, Stosur blamed himself for not being in the best of health when entering the final match: "I felt a bit tired when I woke up in the morning. Losing 0-4 was a bad start against Maria. In the second set I had a few chances but couldn't take advantage of them."

This victory is a great morale boost for the Russian doll. The former World No. 1 has had a hard time regaining his form since his shoulder surgery in October 2008.

The last title she won was almost a year ago, in Strasbourg, France. Receiving a prize of more than $2 million from the Organizing Committee, Sharapova is full of confidence preparing to enter Roland Garros 2011.

"I always attack right from the start. My personal movement on clay has improved. That's why I won the Rome Masters" - Sharapova confided.

Meanwhile, despite the defeat, Stosur affirmed that she was ready for the French Open: "This is an important week. I feel more energetic and want to participate in the Grand Slam immediately. I am very optimistic about going to Paris next week."

According to Vietnamnet