Spaniard beats Serb in straight sets to capture Rome crown

Playing her very own - and very vintage - brand of tennis, María José Martínez Sánchez captured her third and by far biggest career singles title on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour on Saturday, defeating Jelena Jankovic in a tight two-setter for the Internazionali BNL d'Italia crown.

Martínez Sánchez has been known to come out strong but sometimes lose her way against the top players, and against Jankovic she almost went there again, but she wouldn't fold this time. With her mix of power, precision and spins, she crafted a 76(5) 75 victory, despite squandering a 5-2 first set lead (with set point at 5-3) and a 5-3 second set lead. And just to show how much variety she has, she clinched both sets with serve-and-volley plays.

Martínez Sánchez had two titles before this one, both on clay, but they were at the International level - Bogotá and Bastad last year. Rome, a Premier-level title, is her biggest yet on the singles court, and she is the first Spaniard to win here since her semi-namesake Conchita Martínez in 1996. This is also the biggest title a Spaniard has won on the Tour since Martínez won Berlin in 2000.

"This is a very important moment. I worked so hard to get here, and even if this goes down in history, it hasn't sunken in yet," Martínez Sánchez said. "In the first round I was losing. The key is to fight, fight, fight to the end. You don't have to set a limit for yourself."

Martínez Sánchez's victims en route to the final also included No.2 seed Caroline Wozniacki (she is now 3-0 lifetime against the Danish teenager).

"María José is very different from most girls. She makes a lot of drop shots and volleys, and she's also left-handed, which makes it a little bit tricky to play her," Jankovic said. "I tried my best. I came back in both sets and at those times I prayed to hold my serve. I didn't manage it today. She won and credit to her."

"My game isn't typical, not even to the other Spanish players, but that's the key. I like doing a lot of different things, coming to the net, playing drop shots," Martínez Sánchez said. "When I was small, Martina Navratilova was still on the TV, and since I was young I have always liked coming to the net. When I was seven or eight I always hit the ball then went straight into the net.


Saturday, May 8, 2010

Singles - Final
Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (ESP) d. (7) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) 76(5) 75