Martinez Sanchez wins Italian Open
Source: Agencies |
May 10, 2010, Monday
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UNSEEDED Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain sliced and diced her way to the Italian Open title in Rome on Saturday, frustrating seventh-ranked Jelena Jankovic 7-6 (5), 7-5.
Jankovic beat hard-hitting Venus and Serena Williams in her previous two matches and had no answer for Martinez Sanchez's touch volleys and repeated drop shots.
It's the first Tier I title - and third title overall - for the 26th-ranked Martinez Sanchez, a left-hander who beat second-seeded Caroline Wozniacki in the third round and knocked out former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic in the semifinals.
"It was really an unbelievable tournament for me. What can I say? It's incredible," Martinez Sanchez said.
Jankovic was aiming for her third title at the Foro Italico but, on one more than one occasion, ended up sprawled on the clay after chasing down drop shots.
"She played so well," Jankovic said. "She really killed me with all those drop shots, and I killed myself falling all over the place."
This tournament is an important clay-court warmup for the French Open, which starts in two weeks.
Dominating with her tactical game, Martinez Sanchez jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the opening set with Jankovic appearing befuddled by the Spaniard's sharp angles.
But Martinez Sanchez's game then abandoned her for a stretch due to apparent nerves. And when she served for the set at 5-2, she wasted her chance with a weak overhead that led to an error into the net.
More confident, Jankovic then started moving forward more and imposing her game with shots deep to the corners, winning four consecutive games to take a 6-5 lead. But she too then wasted a set point with a routine forehand into the net, and Martinez Sanchez broke back to force a tiebreaker.
The turning point in the tiebreaker came when Martinez Sanchez sliced a backhand wide to Jankovic's backhand, setting up a volley she put away into the open court to take a 6-4 lead.
On Martinez Sanchez's third set point, at 6-5 in the tiebreaker, a second-serve return from Jankovic was called wide but the umpire overruled, awarding a first serve to Martinez Sanchez to draw protest from Jankovic.
Martinez Sanchez took advantage of her new opportunity, hitting a strong serve down the middle and following to the net to put away a comfortable volley.
Martinez broke in the opening game of the second set, then let Jankovic draw even at 3-3. The Spaniard went ahead again but, serving for the match at 5-3, she double faulted to hand Jankovic the game. However, Martinez Sanchez maintained her composure to win the next two games. She converted her second match point with a characteristic serve out wide to Jankovic's backhand.
Jankovic beat hard-hitting Venus and Serena Williams in her previous two matches and had no answer for Martinez Sanchez's touch volleys and repeated drop shots.
It's the first Tier I title - and third title overall - for the 26th-ranked Martinez Sanchez, a left-hander who beat second-seeded Caroline Wozniacki in the third round and knocked out former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic in the semifinals.
"It was really an unbelievable tournament for me. What can I say? It's incredible," Martinez Sanchez said.
Jankovic was aiming for her third title at the Foro Italico but, on one more than one occasion, ended up sprawled on the clay after chasing down drop shots.
"She played so well," Jankovic said. "She really killed me with all those drop shots, and I killed myself falling all over the place."
This tournament is an important clay-court warmup for the French Open, which starts in two weeks.
Dominating with her tactical game, Martinez Sanchez jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the opening set with Jankovic appearing befuddled by the Spaniard's sharp angles.
But Martinez Sanchez's game then abandoned her for a stretch due to apparent nerves. And when she served for the set at 5-2, she wasted her chance with a weak overhead that led to an error into the net.
More confident, Jankovic then started moving forward more and imposing her game with shots deep to the corners, winning four consecutive games to take a 6-5 lead. But she too then wasted a set point with a routine forehand into the net, and Martinez Sanchez broke back to force a tiebreaker.
The turning point in the tiebreaker came when Martinez Sanchez sliced a backhand wide to Jankovic's backhand, setting up a volley she put away into the open court to take a 6-4 lead.
On Martinez Sanchez's third set point, at 6-5 in the tiebreaker, a second-serve return from Jankovic was called wide but the umpire overruled, awarding a first serve to Martinez Sanchez to draw protest from Jankovic.
Martinez Sanchez took advantage of her new opportunity, hitting a strong serve down the middle and following to the net to put away a comfortable volley.
Martinez broke in the opening game of the second set, then let Jankovic draw even at 3-3. The Spaniard went ahead again but, serving for the match at 5-3, she double faulted to hand Jankovic the game. However, Martinez Sanchez maintained her composure to win the next two games. She converted her second match point with a characteristic serve out wide to Jankovic's backhand.
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